The human version (we wrote this, not the council)
This policy requires development to protect, enhance and where appropriate restore landscape character. Schemes must respond to local Landscape Character Area descriptions, be landscape led from the earliest design stage, and guard against settlements merging together. A Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment is required for all major developments, sites over 0.5 hectares, or schemes affecting heritage settings. Harm to the landscape is only acceptable where it is unavoidable and outweighed by public benefits, and new planting must use native, locally characteristic species with long-term maintenance secured.
An unofficial plain English summary. The official wording below is
what counts at examination; check it before you rely on anything here.
The text below is extracted automatically from the official PDF and may
contain artefacts; the PDF is authoritative.
Policy DS.16
Protecting, Enhancing and Restoring Landscape Character
A. Landscape Character and Enhancement
Development proposals must:
1. Demonstrate how they have been informed by and respond positively to the local
distinctiveness and historic character of South Warwickshire’s diverse
landscapes, including the relevant Landscape Character Area descriptions and
management guidelines.
2. Protect landscape character and avoid adverse effects on features that
contribute to the character, history or setting of a settlement or landscape.
3. Incorporate measures to enhance and where appropriate, restore the landscape
character of the locality, proportionate to the scale of development and
contribute where relevant to wider green and blue infrastructure and nature
recovery objectives.
4. Development layout, design and masterplanning must be landscape led,
demonstrate how the landscape context has shaped the form, density,
orientation, movement network, open space structure and overall design
approach from the earliest stages and supported an early-stage landscape
appraisal that demonstrates how landscape considerations have shaped the
design from inception
5. Must be sensitive to an area’s capacity for change, acknowledge cumulative
effects and guard against the potential for coalescence between existing
settlements
B. Minimising Visual Impacts
1. A proportionate Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) will
be required for all major developments (as defined in the NPPF), proposals over
0.5ha or those that affect the setting of heritage assets.
2. Development that would result in harm to the existing landscape, will only be
supported if it can be demonstrated that the harm is unavoidable
and outweighed by wider public benefits. Any harm to such features must be
clearly justified and shown to be unavoidable, with appropriate
mitigation secured.
3. New landscaping must be incorporated to reduce predicted visual effects and
enhance the existing landscape using native and locally characteristic species.
Planting should be implemented at the earliest practicable stage and provision
for long term establishment, management and maintenance must be secured
through planning conditions or obligations.