Landscape Character Assessment in Scotland
Learn about Scotland’s national Landscape Character Assessment coverage.
Scotland’s national coverage of landscape character assessment (LCA) is provided as a single dataset. This can be viewed within the Scottish Landscape Character Types Map and Descriptions.
The coverage is at the level of Landscape Character Type (LCT) – i.e. types of consistent and recognisable landscape character that may occur in more than one area. The dataset labels, as “urban”, settlements with a population of more than approximately 25,000; these were not assessed.
Background
Between 1994 and 1999, NatureScot commissioned, in partnership with others, a series of 30 regional landscape character assessment studies. Together, these identified, mapped and described the landscape character of all of Scotland (mostly at a scale of 1:50,000). Townscape character assessment was beyond the scope of these studies, and urban areas were not assessed.
Each study typically covered a local authority area and provided the foundation for landscape planning. The studies were used widely in the planning system.
We began a review of these paper-based documents in 2011. This was due to technical advances in the meantime and additional complementary datasets produced e.g. Historic Land-use Assessment.
More detail on how we carried out the review is available within the LCA Introduction and Review Methodology document. We produced a summary of the main differences between 1990 and 2019 data.
Several of the 1990s LCAs contained "Forces for Change" and guidance sections. Many of these had become dated, for example planning policy references and turbine heights. The 2019 national LCA did not update these. Some of the details, such as settlement pattern analysis in some reports, may still be useful and can be accessed from the archive of publications and documents. If there is a relevant sensitivity study, that would take precedence for informing landscape considerations for that development type, e.g. wind farms.
Should you find any broken links, missing labels etc, or have any queries, please notify us at [email protected].
Alphabetical list of regional landscape character assessment reviews (1994-1999)
- Aberdeen 1996 (Review No 80 ref tbc)
- Aberdeenshire, south and central (NatureScot ref A1487505)
- Argyll and the Firth of Clyde 1996 (Review No 78 ref A1487425)
- Ayrshire (NatureScot ref A1487551)
- Banff and Buchan (NatureScot ref tbc)
- Ben Alder, Ardverikie and Creag Meagaidh (NatureScot ref A1487591)
- Borders (NatureScot ref A1487554)
- Cairngorms (NatureScot ref A1487407)
- Caithness and Sutherland (NatureScot ref A1487510)
- Central Region (NatureScot ref A1487598)
- Clackmannanshire (NatureScot ref A1487494)
- Dumfries and Galloway (NatureScot ref A1487467)
- Dunfermline 1995 (Review No 19 ref tbc)
- Fife 1999 (Review No 113 ref A1487578)
- Glasgow and the Clyde Valley 1999 (Review No 116 ref A1487666)
- Inverness (NatureScot ref A1487579)
- Kinross-shire (NatureScot ref A1487415)
- Loch Lomond and the Trossachs (NatureScot ref A1586281)
- Lochaber (NatureScot ref A1487496)
- Lothians (NatureScot ref A1487463)
- Mar Lodge Estate 1996 (Review No 79 ref A1487428)
- Moray and Nairn (NatureScot ref A1487502)
- Inner Moray Firth (NatureScot ref A1487459)
- Orkney 1998 (Review No 100 ref A1487501)
- Ross and Cromarty (NatureScot ref A1487586)
- Shetland Isles 1998 (Review No 93 ref A1487466)
- Skye and Lochalsh (NatureScot ref A1487396)
- Stirling to Grangemouth (NatureScot ref A1487600)
- Tayside (NatureScot ref A1487595)
- Western Isles 1998 (Review No 92 ref A1487464)
Links to all the landscape character assessment reports will be added here soon. In the meantime, if you need to access a report that is not available above, you can request a copy by emailing: [email protected] (please include the area name and reference number).
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