LANDSCAPE
CHANGE FOR REGENERATION
The current character of the landscape should not be a barrier to the
creation of new landscapes. Where a Landscape Character Assessment
indicates that a strategy of enhancement or regeneration is appropriate
for a particular landscape type or area, this signals scope for
significant change to the landscape, often by creation of a new
landscape character to suit new circumstances. In many respects,
landscapes with degraded features and elements offer greatest scope for
positive change to improve the local environment and people's quality
of life.
Landscape Character Assessment can play a key role in identifying areas
of the countryside which offer potential for creative approaches to
landscape renewal. They can involve restoration of valued character
where it has been lost, and investment in creating new landscapes
elsewhere. Schemes like the Central Scotland Forest, Highland
Birchwoods Project, Isle of Rum Management Plan, the National Forest
and the Community Forests are all good examples of large-scale
initiatives to improve and regenerate extensive tracts of landscape. New
wetlands and fenland restoration are other examples of how extensive
land use change can be a focus for new activity in the countryside and
at the urban edge. All have been informed by Landscape Character
Assessments, helping to guide landscape change where it will be of
greatest benefit, and influencing design matters.
Many
of the most significant opportunities for
restoration and creation of landscape occur
around the fringes of urban areas. These are
also often the areas under greatest pressure for development and subject
to more rapid rates of change. Character in these areas may be
difficult to pin down because it is usually dominated by built-up areas
of different types. Stakeholder involvement can be of particular merit
in indicating where and what people value most in their local
environment and in highlighting those landscape characteristics which
local people would wish to see incorporated into proposals for
enhancement and development.
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