Shetland Local Landscape Designation Review: Final Report

6 Audit of Landscape Designations
INTRODUCTION
6.1 This section presents a brief audit of the existing suite of national and local
landscape designations in Shetland. Landscape designations in Shetland
comprise one National Scenic Area, and a large number of Local Protection
Areas. These are illustrated in Figure 6.1.
NATIONAL SCENIC AREAS
6.2 The Shetland National Scenic Area (NSA) is one of 40 NSAs originally
identified by the Countryside Commission for Scotland in their report
Scotland’s Scenic Heritage, and described as being “of unsurpassed attractiveness
which must be conserved as part of our national heritage”. 13 The designation
came into effect in 1980. Recent legislation confirms NSAs as areas “of
outstanding scenic value in a national context”. 14
6.3 NSAs were reviewed by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) in the late 1990s,
and this led to a process of identifying ‘special qualities’ for each NSA. This
process was based on a standard methodology, 15 and began in 2007. The
work was published in 2010 as The special qualities of the National Scenic
Areas, 16 and has been referred to in the audit.
Location, extent and boundaries
6.4 The Shetland NSA comprises seven separate coastal areas across Shetland.
These are:
Fair Isle, comprising the whole island;
South West Mainland, the largest area, stretching from Fitful Head to the
Deeps and including Burra and Trondra;
Foula, comprising the whole island;
Muckle Roe, comprising the western half of the island;
Eshaness, the south coast from Head of Stanshi to Ness of Hillswick;
Fethaland, the northern part of North Roe and including Uyea; and
Hermaness, including Burra Firth and Muckle Flugga.
6.5 The Shetland NSA extends to around 11,600 ha of land in total.
13 Countryside Commission for Scotland (1978) Scotland’s Scenic Heritage.
14 The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006, Section 263A(1).
15 David Tyldesley & Associates (2006). Identifying the Special Qualities of Scotland’s National Scenic Areas.
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No.255.
16 Scottish Natural Heritage (2010). The special qualities of the National Scenic Areas. SNH
Commissioned Report No.374.
Shetland Islands Local Landscape Designation Review
Land Use Consultants
Final Report 25 October 2011