PLANNING ADVICE 12/2012 LANDSCAPE CHARACTER ADVICE FOR SMALL SCALE DEVELOPMENT CONTENTS Knock Hill and Aberchirder - 23 Northern Rolling Lowlands - 27 The Cromar Farmlands - 29 1. Introduction Upland Ridges South of the Deveron - 33 2. Process Wooded Estates Around Old Deer - 36 3. Policy Review Ythan Strath Farmland - 37 4. General Advice The Farmed Moorland Edge: 5. Landscape Character Advice (by Type): Daugh of Cairnborrow - 5 The Coast: Lumsden Valley - 24 Cliffs of the North and South East Coasts -3 The Cromar Uplands - 30 Dunes and beaches from Fraserburgh to Uplands and Moorland Plateaux: Peterhead - 10 Grampian Outliers - 15 Formartine Links and Dunes - 12 The Mounth - 31 Kincardine Cliffs - 20 The North Eastern Hill Ranges - 32 Kincardine Links - 21 The Straths and River Valleys: The Coastal Farmland: Deeside - 6 Coastal Farmland East of Macduff - 4 Deveron and Bogie Straths -7 Eastern Coastal Agricultural Plain - 11 Deveron and Upper Ythan Valleys - 8 North Eastern Coastal Farmland – 26 Donside - 9 Sandstone Ridges and Valleys South of Muir of Dinnet - 25 Troup - 28 Upper Deeside Estates - 34 Western Coastal Farmland - 35 The Agricultural Heartland: Agricultural Heartland - 1 Central Wooded Estates - 2 Formartine Lowlands - 13 GLOSSARY Garvock and Glenbervie - 14 For a Glossary of Landscape Terms, the SNH Howe of Alford - 16 website contains a comprehensive list: Howe of Cromar - 17 http://www.snh.gov.uk/protecting-scotlands- Howe of the Mearns - 18 nature/looking-after-landscapes/landscape- Insch Basin - 19 resource-library/glossary-of-terms/ Kincardine Plateau - 22 MAP OF LANDSCAPE CHARACTER AREAS 3 4 28 26 35 10 23 8 1 11 36 5 7 33 27 37 15 15 33 27 19 13 24 15 12 16 9 2 15 30 29 17 15 15 2 25 6 34 22 31 20 32 31 14 18 21 See contents page above for corresponding areas. 1. INTRODUCTION used as a basis for making judgements on the potential for adverse landscape impacts This non-statutory planning advice provides guidance on the key characteristics of landscape character areas. It provides from proposed development. It should be specific advice for small scale development noted that the boundaries are not rigid, and and how to fit this in the landscape. Policy a development in one character area may 12 Landscape Conservation recognises the have an impact on another character area. landscapes of Aberdeenshire are valuable This is particularly relevant where the assets and aims to promote protection, neighbouring areas are identified as being management and planning of all of increased sensitivity. landscapes in order that the overall quality of the landscape can be improved or One such sensitivity is the adjoining maintained. SG Landscape1: Landscape Cairngorms National Park. Whilst this Character provides a policy context for advice focuses on the parts of achieving this. The supplementary guidance Aberdeenshire outwith the national park, requires all development to be appropriate there are a number of character areas to the landscape character of the area and which overlap and adjoin it and therefore not have an adverse impact on key features cross boundary impacts must be or the overall composition and quality of considered. landscape character. For these Landscape Character areas, The Local Development Plan (LDP) has reference should also be made to guidance changed the way we deal with landscape. provided by the Cairngorms National Park Areas of Landscape Significance are no through their Landscape Toolkit. longer be the primary geography used to determine potential impacts, but instead a www.cairngorms.co.uk/landscape-toolkit/ more comprehensive approach will be used by adopting Landscape Character Areas. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) have defined landscape character areas within three Landscape Character Assessments. The descriptions of the character areas contained therein provide a basis for considering impacts on landscape character. The three relevant assessments completed as part of the National Programme of Landscape Character Assessment are; South and Central Aberdeenshire: Banff and Buchan and the Cairngorms Landscape Assessment. These can be viewed on the Scottish Natural Heritage website. http://www.snh.gov.uk/protecting-scotlands- nature/looking-after-landscapes/lca/ This advice encompasses information contained with SNH’s landscape character assessments. It provides a short overview of each character area and its key characteristics. This information should be officers in considering the impact that development has on landscape character The advice provides guidance to applicants and providing guidance on minimising on the key characteristics of a landscape, impacts on landscape character. In general how small scale development is best fitted the impact of development on the in that character area, and in some cases landscape character will be considered in what should be avoided. The advice will the following way: also be used by Development Management Identify those features or characteristics which make the landscape special (identified in the Identify sensitivity of landscape / advice). Sensitivity is the capacity the landscape has to accommodate development. The higher landscape characteristics the sensitivity of a landscape to a particular type of change, the lower its capacity to accommodate change. Identify the magnitude of change This is the degree to which the landscape would (significance) be altered by the proposal, the scale of change. Make a judgement on whether the Is the impact acceptable? Make a judgement on impact is acceptable (the the significance of the development based on the combination of the landscape sensitivity and significance of the above two the magnitude of change. Higher design quality factors) could mean less landscape impact. The advice is for all types of small scale • Policy review, which details the development such as single houses, small landscape planning policies of the Local groups of houses, agricultural buildings, Development Plan. and small scale employment proposals. • General advice, which sets out broad principles that should be considered in When assessing wind turbine proposals, the location, siting and design of all the advice should be taken account of, but small scale development. the advice does not provide specific • Landscape character area advice, guidance as to the siting of these. which sets out the characteristics and Supplementary guidance is being advice for the 37 character areas. developed separately for wind turbine proposals. In most cases it will be For each landscape character area the necessary for large scale developments to key landscape features of the landscape undertake a landscape and visual impact are described. The advice includes; a assessment. However, consideration of the map showing the boundaries of the key characteristics and qualities of a character area with areas of particular character area are still important regardless sensitivities shaded where applicable; of development scale. The advice does not specific guidance of the most appropriate provide guidance on cohesive groups as way to fit new small scale development these vary across a character area in terms into the landscape; and also anything that of size, shape, and cohesive should specifically be avoided. The characteristics. specific guidance may not apply to every circumstance and the guidance is The advice is split into four sections: therefore not prescriptive. An application • Process, which sets out the method to for development should only be follow when considering the impact a considered against the aspects of the development will have on the landscape guidance relevant to its situation. character. 2. PROCESS What impact will the development have on the key landscape This section outlines the process which features? Will it remove any? Will it should be followed when assessing an dilute the prevalence of these? Will application against landscape character. it have no impact? How significant is the impact? How will this impact on 1) Identify which landscape character area the overall quality of the landscape the site lies in. Identify if the area is of (its beauty/historical value). increased landscape sensitivity, and if so Could the scale, layout, siting and/or assess whether the proposal will potentially design be more appropriate to the have an adverse impact on the features character area? which make the area sensitive (as Where the area is identified as being described in the advice). sensitive, are any of the sensitivities affected? Also consideration of the landscape type Have the general principles as set will provide a general idea about the out in the “General Guidance” been characteristics of the area (i.e. upland, considered? agricultural). Could any adverse impacts be mitigated? 2) Consider the impact on neighbouring Could landscaping or planting help character areas, particularly if these are mitigate impacts? identified as of increased sensitivity. If the Are there opportunities to enhance site is located at or near the boundary of any of the key landscape features? two areas, it will be necessary to consider both neighbouring character areas. 4) Identify the scale of change and whether Although the character areas have specific it is appropriate to the landscape character. boundaries, in practice the landscape Is the level of impact acceptable? doesn’t suddenly change, and there will be Can the landscape accommodate an element of overlap between areas. the development without loosing its intrinsic character or