Landscape architects and environmental planners have a key role to play in protecting, conserving and enhancing the natural and built environment, delivering resilience to climate change and creating environmentally sustainable places that enhance people’s well-being.
Our award-winning landscape planning team offers services across a range of sectors - from large-scale energy and infrastructure to small housing projects and sensitive heritage sites. We support infrastructure providers and utility companies, government bodies, developers, architects and contractors, ensuring that projects are better planned, communicated and delivered.
As members of the Landscape Institute and the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA), we offer landscape and environmental planning services:
- Landscape, townscape and seascape character assessment
- Landscape and visual impact assessment
- Landscape and visual sensitivity and capacity studies
- Mitigation and enhancement
- Planning for future landscapes and climate change
- Environmental impact assessment
- Development planning
- Expert witness
- Master planning
- GIS
- Presenting information
Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) and Townscape Assessment (TVIA)
Changes to the existing landscape or townscape are often the most contentious element of new developments. By identifying the effects of proposals on views and on the landscape, LVIA can often be key to planning decisions. LVIA/ TVIA may be carried out formally as part of an Environmental Impact Assessment, or as an informal contribution to the appraisal of development proposals and planning applications.
Our expert assessors undertake LVIA/ TVIAs across the full spectrum of property and infrastructure development, including transport and energy infrastructure, residential, mixed-use and commercial, education and healthcare, water and leisure projects.
Development planning
With our extensive experience, we help our clients through the full cycle of development from initial studies, through EIA, to the submission of applications and supporting documents, and the subsequent discharge of conditions and requirements.
For major infrastructure developments, a DCO under the Planning Act may be required. Our team has experience of guiding projects through the process, including statutory and non-statutory consultation, stakeholder liaison, Statements of Common Ground, submission of the application, Examination, granting of a DCO and discharge of requirements.
Environmental assessments
Working collaboratively with our clients, co-professionals and stakeholders enables us to understand the likely effects of developments on the environment and ensure that proposals meet regulatory and policy obligations. Where impacts are unavoidable, we seek to find ways to reduce or mitigate them and identify ways in which the environment may be improved, as part of the development process.
Our services include:
- Screening and scoping advice
- EIA co-ordination
- Environmental Statement / EIA report production
- Peer review
Our EIA coordinators are experts in their field, which is more important than ever before, as EIA Regulations now stipulate that the onus is with the developer to ensure that EIA is undertaken by competent experts.
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