Local Landscape Areas

In many places in Scotland, the scenery is highly valued locally. Local authorities often give these landscapes a local designation.

Local Landscape Area (LLA), following Scottish Government policy, is the name used for the local landscape designation. Previous names include Special Landscape Area and Area of Great Landscape Value.

All local landscape designations:

• help to protect a landscape from inappropriate development
• may encourage positive landscape management
• play an important role in developing an awareness of the landscape qualities that make particular areas distinctive
• promote a community’s sense of pride in its surroundings  

Local landscape designations occur across Scotland. Local development plans show their location (and associated policy). NatureScot doesn’t maintain a national record of local landscape designations, but the map below shows their coverage based on August 2016 data.

See the Local Landscape Areas 2017 map

LLAs complement the National Scenic Area designation, used for nationally important landscapes.

Guidance update

NatureScot and Historic Scotland (now Historic Environment Scotland) first published guidance on local landscape designations in 2006. This guidance has now been updated following a consultation in early 2017.

The revised guidance aims to help planning authorities identify or review their local landscape designation and maximise its benefits.

Read the Guidance on Designating Local Landscape Areas.

Find out more

Landscape - Looking after landscape isn’t about preservation. Landscapes continually change – which can be positive if planned and managed well.