Landscape Character Supplementary Planning Document ...

City of Bradford Metropolitan District CouncilLocal Development Framework For Bradford3.0 BACKGROUND & CONTEXT3.1 “Landscape is about the relationship between people and place. It provides the settingfor our day-to-day lives. The term does not mean just special or designated landscapesand it does not only apply to the countryside. Landscape can mean a small patch ofurban wasteland as much as a mountain range, and an urban park as much as anexpanse of lowland plain. It results from the way that different components of ourenvironment – both natural (the influences of geology, soils, climate flora and fauna) andcultural (the historical and current impact of land use, settlement, enclosure and otherhuman interventions) – interact together and are perceived by us.” 23.2 The identification and classification of areas of the countryside for their ‘landscape value’has long been a part of the planning system, dating back to the creation of Areas ofOutstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) from the mid 1940’s. By the 1970’s emphasis wasplaced upon ‘landscape evaluation’ and the concept of value within land-use planning,this compared the value of one landscape with another. Between the mid 1980’s to themid 1990’s the focus shifted towards the assessment of the landscape, recognising therole for both objectivity and subjectivity.3.3 The process of landscape characterisation and assessment was spearheaded inEngland by the work of the Countryside Agency, and a map was produced whichsubdivided England into character areas. The Bradford District lies within three of thesearea:36 South Pennines37 Yorkshire Southern Pennine Fringe38 Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire Coalfield3.4 Since the publication of the Character Map of England, further guidance has beenissued; firstly the publication of the Rural White Paper in 2000 which established the keyissues in respect of landscape character and included proposals to conserve andenhance the rural landscape on the whole and the diversity and abundance of wildlife.This was followed by the Countryside Agency’s publication ‘Landscape CharacterAssessment – Guidance for England and Scotland’ in 2002, which set out the contextand specific guidance on how to carry out landscape assessments.2 Countryside Agency & Scottish Natural Heritage (2002 landscape Character assessment. Guidance forEngland and Scotland.Landscape Character Supplementary Planning DocumentOctober 2008 Page 3