Cherwell District Council (CDC) are in the process of preparing the Cherwell Local Plan Review 2042, which will provide detailed planning policies and site allocations. An updated landscape evidence base is required to inform preparation of the new plan. LUC has been commissioned to prepare an updated landscape assessment to replace the Cherwell District Landscape Assessment published in 1995, along with other evidence relating to local landscape designations, settlement gaps and proposed development sites.

The aim of the Landscape Character Assessment is to create a comprehensive and up to date strategic scale landscape evidence. It provides a robust evidence base to underpin the production of the Local Plan and to assist in the local planning process. It is intended to both inform work on policy development and development management, guiding development that is sympathetic to local character and the qualities/values of the landscape. It can help inform locational policies for strategic development as well as appropriate design and mitigation, providing a framework for more detailed landscape studies and sensitivity assessments as well as baseline evidence for more detailed Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA).

Wider application of the Landscape Character Assessment may include land management, notably implementation of agri-environment schemes, such as the Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS), and land use change to achieve net zero, including opportunities for woodland creation.

In summary, the document can be used as a reference for landscape character when considering any type of change. This includes opportunities for conserving existing character and strengthening and enhancing character, as well as opportunities to create new character.

This study focuses on the character of landscape outside of Cherwell’s four principal settlements (as defined in the emerging Local Plan): Banbury, Bicester, Kidlington (with Yarnton) and Heyford Park.

The Role of Landscape Character Assessment

The process of Landscape Character Assessment is described in ‘An Approach to Landscape Character Assessment’ (Natural England, October 2014). Within this document landscape character is defined as “a distinct, recognisable and consistent pattern of elements in the landscape that makes one landscape different from another, rather than better or worse”.

Landscape Character Assessment is the process of identifying and describing such variations in character across a landscape. It seeks to identify and explain the unique combination of features and attributes (characteristics) that make different landscapes distinctive. The landscape is the result of the interaction between people and place which gives an area a local identity. The ‘landscape wheel’ below illustrates how the different natural, cultural, and perceptual attributes of a landscape combine to produce character.

Understanding the character of place and evaluating an area’s defining characteristics is a key component in managing growth sustainably and ensuring that the inherent character and qualities of the landscape can continue to be appreciated. Understanding of character can be used to ensure that any change or development does not undermine whatever is valued or characteristic in a particular landscape and help guide positive change that conserves, enhances, restores, or creates local character.

The 'Landscape Wheel' (Natural England, 2014)

The European Landscape Convention

The European Landscape Convention (ELC) came into force in the UK in March 2007. It establishes the need to recognise landscape in law; to develop landscape policies dedicated to the protection, management and planning of landscapes; and to establish procedures for the participation of the general public and other stakeholders in the creation and implementation of landscape policies. The ELC definition of ‘landscape’ recognises that all landscapes matter, be they ordinary, degraded, or outstanding: “Landscape means an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors”.

The ELC puts emphasis on the whole landscape and all its values and is forward looking in its approach, recognising the dynamic and changing character of landscape. Specific measures promoted by the ELC of direct relevance to this study include:

• The identification and assessment of landscape; and
• Improved consideration of landscape in existing and future sectoral and spatial policy and regulation

This Landscape Character Assessment makes a key contribution to the implementation of the ELC in the study area. It helps to reaffirm the importance of landscape, coordinates existing work and guides future work to protect, manage and plan the landscape.

Using the Assessment

A glossary of terms in included in Appendix A and guidance on how to use the assessment is set out in Appendix B.