Landscape character and visual amenity

NE20: Landscape character and visual amenity 1. Development must protect and enhance Buckinghamshire’s landscapes with an appropriate response to the site and its surrounding landscape. All development must meet all the following: a) the planning approach to land use, layout and design makes a positive contribution to the site landscape and its surroundings. b) draw upon Buckinghamshire’ Landscape Character Assessments for context and inspiration. c) reflect the positive aspects of existing local development patterns, including location, scale, form and detail. d) reinforce or enhance local character and distinctiveness in the built and natural environment. e) incorporate development within a robust landscape framework that contributes to local green infrastructure. f) avoid the loss of, or harm to key local views that encompass the site. g) avoid and minimise adverse impacts on local visual amenity generally. h) avoid and minimise the effects of lighting on the landscape at night, especially in those areas which are intrinsically dark, and avoid light pollution to the night sky. i) avoid noise pollution in areas relatively undisturbed by noise, especially those areas of recreational or amenity value. j) enhance public rights of way and provide other opportunities for walking. 2. The first stage in mitigating impact is to avoid any identified significant adverse impact. Where it is accepted there will be harm to the landscape character, specific on-site and/or off-site mitigation will be required to minimise that harm and, as a last resort, compensation may be required as part of a planning application. This reflects the mitigation hierarchy set out in the National Planning Policy Framework. Applicants must consider the enhancement opportunities identified in the LCAs and how they apply to a specific site. 3. In addition to measures above, for any development in the National Landscape or its setting please see policy NE18. 7.284 All the landscape in Buckinghamshire is considered to have character and particular distinctive features to be conserved, positive characteristics to be enhanced and detracting features to be mitigated or removed. The Landscape Character Assessments (LCAs) are the primary evidence base which divides the entire landscape (beyond towns and the Chilterns National Landscape) into landscape character areas and landscape character types. There are four Landscape Character Assessments and an addendum which cover Buckinghamshire. a) Aylesbury Vale Landscape Character Assessment (May 2008, minor amendments May 2013) b) Chiltern Landscape Character Assessment (October 2011) c) South Bucks Landscape Character Assessment (October 2011) d) Wycombe Landscape Character Assessment (October 2011) e) Landscape Character Assessment Addendum (due summer 2026) 7.284 A review of the above Landscape Character Assessments was undertaken between 2024 and is due for completion in summer 2026. This is an addendum to the existing LCAs and should be considered as part of the evidence base. The 2026 addendum study sets out landscape conservation guidelines for each landscape character area and considers the impact on each character area of major developments including the current construction of HS2. Therefore, all the landscape in Buckinghamshire can have innate ‘value’ as referred to in the National Policy Planning Framework (NPPF) (2024).