Landscape / Visual Appraisals
Appraisals provide a review of a site and its setting to ascertain the sensitivity to accommodate a particular development in landscape and visual terms.
It is often used when the full LVIA is not required but understanding more about the local landscape and the visibility of the site, would be beneficial at the outset of a project, when this process can inform the Site Analysis and Feasibility stages, helping to identify potential constraints and opportunities at an early stage. This can be a brief document or a slightly more expanded one and may focus more on either the landscape or the visual aspects depending on the nature of the proposed development.
The LVA enables a sensitive approach to development and can form a part of a submission to a Local Planning Authority, as it will identify the key landscape and visual opportunities and constraints of the site. The LVA however, is not an assessment of the effects of a development. If this is required, the LVA can be expanded as part of the LVIA process, usually without having to repeat the desk and site assessment work.