Inverclyde

Land Use Consultants (LUC) was appointed as Landscape Term Consultants for Inverclyde Council in March 2007. LUC will provide landscape design services and landscape advice to the Inverclyde Council Regeneration and Resources department.

LUC have already been involved in a number of projects throughout the council area including the contract administration of a cemetery extension, landscape advice to the planning team on various housing sites and the replacement of an artificial sports pitch. LUC will act as Term Consultants until March 2009.

Adapting to Climate Change

The guidance is the product of a two year research project commissioned by Defra (through its Cross Regional Research Programme on climate change impacts and adaptation) and the Three Regions Climate Change Group.

The guidance sets out the climate change adaptation issues that planners and developers should consider at each stage of the development process and ways to address them.

Project information
(PDF 4MB)

Antonine Wall

On the 23rd January 2007 the Antonine Wall, which connects the Forth and Clyde in Scotland and was built in the 2nd Century as the furthest north west boundary of the Roman Empire, was put forward by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell on behalf of Historic Scotland as the UK’s latest nomination for World Heritage Site status. The proposed site is being nominated as an extension to the trans-national Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site, which includes Hadrian’s Wall and the Upper German Raetian Limes.

As part of the process of applying for World Heritage Status, Historic Scotland were required to identify a buffer zone around the site. The purpose of this buffer zone was to be to protect the landscape setting of the proposed World Heritage Site. Additionally, the buffer zone may also be used to define where landscape management schemes might be introduced, to improve the setting of the site and to facilitate appreciation and understanding by the public. Historic Scotland employed the Glasgow team at LUC to advise on the location and extent of this buffer zone.

With no established methodology in place as to how a buffer zone should be established for World Heritage Sites, the team developed their own methodology based upon visibility to and from the proposed Site, and analysis of the land use setting.

Once this buffer zone had been established, a series of planning and management recommendations were also drawn up by the team and submitted, along with the proposed buffer zones, to Historic Scotland for the World Heritage Site application. The team involved at Glasgow all enjoyed carrying out this project for Historic Scotland and are looking forward to the application being approved later this year! .

Project information
(PDF 81Kb)

Tower of London

LUC’s Tower of London Skyspace Study was highly commended in the Local Landscape Planning category of the Landscape Institute Awards which were announced on the 30th November 2006 in London. This is an internationally important piece of work that is currently being used to inform a strategy to protect the Tower of London World Heritage Site, particularly from threats posed by tall buildings affecting its setting. Without such a strategy UNESCO could place the Tower of London World Heritage Site on the ‘at danger’ list. A recent visit to the World Heritage Site by UNESCO in November put the Tower of London in the spotlight, highlighting the UK’s obligation to provide for the careful protection and management of our World Heritage Sites.

Project information
(PDF 449Kb)

Rainforest Ventures

Land Use Consultants are pleased to be working in partnership with Rainforest Ventures Ltd to design and deliver an enclosed tropical rainforest in the north-west of England. The scheme will be a major environmental attraction and will play an important role in education about the plants that make up the rainforest.

Robin Lock, the co-founder of the venture, worked alongside LUC on the Humid Tropics Biome at The Eden Project in Cornwall. The design of the attraction will feature a landmark building designed by Daniel Libeskind.

Ore Valley, Hastings

The Ore Valley Millennium Community in Hastings, East Sussex is an ambitious programme of housing renewal and environmental regeneration. Seaspace, the coordinating agency, has appointed Land Use Consultants to develop and implement a landscape framework and detail design for the open space that forms the heart of the valley and the community.

Appropriate Assessment Guidance

Land Use Consultants are working with a consortium of sustainability consultants to continuously develop and improve approaches to carrying out Appropriate Assessment. Guidance has been produced on conducting Appropriate Assessment of plans, with cross-references to how Appropriate Assessment links with Strategic Environmental Assessment and Sustainability Appraisal. The link below will take you to a copy of this guidance.

View the report
(PDF 866Kb)

The Environment, Economic Growth and Competitiveness
The Environment as an Economic Driver

LUC compiled and designed a leaflet to support the assertion that a high quality environment provides an essential basis for delivering economic growth and competitiveness agendas, and that funding for the environment supports sustainable regional development. 

The aim of the publication was to employ a combination of evidence from recent research and topical, innovative case studies to persuade the reader that the environment has a key role to play in the future economy of the regions.

The publication was pitched at a non-specialist audience and rose to the challenge of promoting a complex subject in a clear manner. The publication was well-received by the European and national level decision-makers to whom it was presented and we received positive feedback from the ERPG.

View the report
(PDF 576Kb)

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Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area (SPA)

The South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA), with support from DCLG and English Nature, commissioned LUC in April 2006 to conduct an audit and assessment of the potential availability of land that could be used as alternative recreation space to mitigate further disturbance to the Thames Basin Heaths SPA brought about by development within proximity to the SPA. The audit and assessment of land involved detailed consultation with the 11 local authorities in the immediate vicinity of the SPA, other major public landowners, and developers to identify and broadly assess the potential of the sites to be used as alternative recreation space.

The findings of the audit and assessment, together with the on-going peer review of English Natures proposed mitigation standards and the access management work being undertaken by English Nature, will inform the refinement of the Implementation Plan associated with the South East Plan. This will be tested as part of the forthcoming Examination in Public.

View the report
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Do’s and Don’ts Guide to Generating and Developing Alternatives

LUC is working with a consortium of sustainability consultants to continuously develop and improve approaches to carrying out Sustainability Appraisal and Strategic Environmental Assessment of development plans. Guidance has been produced on the Do's and Don'ts of generating and developing alternatives. This should provide helpful advice to those who are working on the challenging task of devising and appraising alternatives in the preparation of plans and programmes. The link below will take you to a copy of this guidance.

Download Guidance