Aberdeenshire Council commissioned LUC to undertake a Local Landscape Designation Review (LLDR), to identify landscapes worthy of additional protection within the Aberdeenshire Local Plan Council area.

Having reviewed their existing landscape policy for its emerging Local Plan, the Council had concluded that a comprehensive review was required to select landscapes meriting designation. We were selected based on our reputation for robust, transparent landscape review, given our extensive experience of similar work across Scotland and England.

Following Scottish Natural Heritage and Historic Scotland guidance, we carried out a comparative evaluation of the whole landscape, identifying areas that merited protection through carefully designed criteria and extensive stakeholder engagement. We used an established landscape character assessment as baseline, and developed this through consideration of practical criteria that help to identify appropriate areas for designation.

The output was a series of candidate Special Landscape Areas, each of which was backed by a detailed citation setting out its qualifying features and aspects, in keeping with national planning policy.  We also developed management recommendations, providing the Council with a better understanding of some of Aberdeenshire’s finest landscapes.

The Special Landscape Areas were adopted by the Council following further public consultation, and were incorporated into supplementary guidance that provides the Council with an important tool for managing change and enhancing valued landscapes.