Natural England - What is Landscape Character Assessment?
What is Landscape Character Assessment?
Our appreciation and understanding of landscapes have increased over time, partly as the result of our need and desire to record, understand, influence and manage change.
Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) is one tool that helps in that understanding, and is defined as:
"The tool that is used to help us to understand, and articulate, the character of the landscape. It helps us identify the features that give a locality its 'sense of place' and pinpoints what makes it different from neighbouring areas."
(‘Landscape Character Assessment: Guidance for England and Scotland’, The Countryside Agency and Scottish Natural Heritage, 2002)
LCA can be used in many situations, for example in devising indicators to gauge landscape change and to inform regional planning, local development, environmental assessment and the management of protected landscapes.
What is the Landscape Character Assessment Guidance?
The Landscape Character Assessment Guidance, published by Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage, shows how to identify and express the different elements, such as woodlands, hedgerows, moors, mountains and farmland, building styles, and historic artifacts, which give a place its unique character.
The Landscape Character Assessment Guidance Publication and accompanying Topic Papers are available to download from the Related links section on this page.
Datasets can be obtained from the MAGIC (Multi-Agency Geographic Information for the Countryside) website.
Where can I find LCAs?
A database of LCAs produced in England is available on the Landscape Character Network (LCN) website.
This is an informal network with a dual focus on LCA and the European Landscape Convention (ELC). The ELC is the first international agreement on landscape, devoted to the protection, management and planning of all landscapes in Europe.
Open to anyone with an interest in landscape, the LCN aims to promote best practice in applying the landscape character approach and LCA by exchanging information, ideas and experience.
The LCN website has been developed as a focus for network activity. It includes newsletters, details of relevant workshops and an online booking facility. Resources and information pages are available including a searchable database of LCAs in England. To join the Landscape Character Network, please visit and register online.
For further information email: coordinator@landscapecharacter.org.uk; or visit the LCN Network, where you can register online.
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Landscape Character Assessment Topic Papers
To further the application and use of Landscape Character Assessment in England and Scotland, a series of Topic Papers have been prepared to accompany the main LCA guidance. These cover the following areas of interest:
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Landscape Character and Community Involvement
Landscape characterisation is the process of of understanding and explaining what makes the local landscape distinctive.
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Landscape Character Assessment Guidance Review & Revision
Natural England, with Scottish Natural Heritage, are currently reviewing and revising the Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) Guidance for England and Scotland (2002) and related Topic Papers.
