Draft National Wind Farm Development Guidelines - July 2010

C.3.2.2
Preliminary landscape character and significance analysis
Building on information gathered in the scope and policy context, desktop research should
include gathering descriptive material relevant to understanding the character and
significance of the proposed development and surrounding area, sufficient to inform the
preliminary assessment.
Identify and describe (in a preliminary manner) the landscape character of the study area
and surrounding landscape(s). Consider:
• The individual landscape character units that occur across the region (refer to
Landscape Character Units Practice Note, Section C.7.2).
• The main natural, rural and built (urban) characteristics.
• Particular locations, features or characteristics of the landscape that are important to
understanding its character and significance (including current or historic land uses).
• Prominent and culturally important locations from which the wind farm may be visible.
• The visual character of the landscape(s).
Identify and document in a preliminary manner the communities and stakeholders who
may hold values relating to the wind farm site and surrounding landscape (e.g. for a
landscape that has State or National significance).
Following the desktop research, the proponent should:
• Prepare a generic base map of the wind farm development and its surrounding
context. Supporting information to provide context should include roads, settlements,
prominent landform features and landmarks, and shire boundaries/ district boundaries
(if applicable).
• Identify and map the landscape character units that occur within the study area and
wider region (refer to Landscape Character Units Practice Note, Section C.7.2).
• Define and map (in a preliminary manner) the likely extent of the study area for the
landscape assessment, which should include a wider contextual study area and a
primary study area.
The wider contextual study area should cover an area that:
• Places the broad landscape character unit in which the subject land is located into
the context of adjoining landscape character units; and
• Encompasses the location of any existing or proposed wind farms or other major
infrastructure works identified in C.3.2.5 Identification of possible cumulative
impacts (page 80).
The primary study area should equate to the anticipated Viewshed, or Zone of Visual
Influence, of the wind farm (refer to Viewshed Mapping Practice Note, Section C.7.5).
Following the analysis, it is recommended that a preliminary site inspection is conducted to
verify assumptions made in the above desktop analysis.
The reporting (which could include photos and sketch maps) should be sufficiently rigorous
to:
• Ascertain (in a preliminary manner) the extent to which the character of the
landscape would be changed by a wind farm.
• Draw preliminary conclusions about the significance of the landscape(s) in which the
wind farm is to be sited.
• Provide the study area for the briefs for all the tasks in the Full Landscape Assessment
(page 80).
• Provide the basis for briefs for the C.4.1.2 Landscape significance analysis (page
82).
Page 78 Draft National Wind Farm Development Guidelines – 2 July 2010