Commissioned in late 2022 and finalised in early 2025, the revised LCA offers an in-depth analysis of the area’s natural, cultural and perceptual landscapes. The assessment covers the full unitary authority area of South Gloucestershire, including part of the Cotswolds National Landscape, and highlights how landscape character can help shape positive, sustainable development and protect what matters to people, places and nature.

The updated LCA includes two new annexes that strengthen its value as a planning and management tool. The first, on Visually Important Hillsides, identifies prominent hillsides across the district – such as the Cotswold Scarp and Hanham Hills – and explains their importance based on distinctiveness, visual prominence, and landscape value. These features play a vital role in local identity, views and green infrastructure.

The second annexe covers Strategic Viewpoints, assessed for their accessibility, popularity, relationship with the Cotswolds National Landscape, and the quality of views. These viewpoints are valuable both for residents’ enjoyment of the countryside and for informing decisions about the visual impact of proposed developments.

The revised LCA aligns closely with national policy, including the National Planning Policy Framework, and supports the Council’s ambitions to tackle the climate crisis. For example, the assessment will help guide the location and design of renewable energy developments, such as solar farms and wind turbines, to ensure they are integrated sensitively into the landscape. It will also support plans to double the district’s tree canopy cover by 2030 and enhance green infrastructure networks.

Importantly, the assessment recognises the role of the landscape in supporting biodiversity, climate resilience, and people’s health and wellbeing. It complements other local strategies, including the South Gloucestershire Green Infrastructure Strategy and the Forest of Avon Plan, by offering a detailed understanding of the character and value of places where nature can be restored and where people can connect with it.

As South Gloucestershire Council prepares its new Local Plan, the Landscape Character Assessment will play a central role in shaping policies and proposals that respond to the area’s identity and potential. The document represents a strong, evidence-based approach to planning that puts character, nature and sustainability at its heart.