Now is a time of fundamental landscape change driven by the global climate and biodiversity crises, the drive for Net Zero as well as new environmental and agricultural policy post Brexit and responding to the needs of a growing population. We need to think strategically about the future of our landscape and what we want it to provide.

It is therefore timely to review the LCA Approach document to make it fit for the future. The update will ensure that LCAs provide sound evidence for managing change, influencing strategic thinking and decision-making.

Visit the Landscape Character Assessment Hub to respond to the survey and register your interest today.

To provoke debate among stakeholders, LUC has written a scene-setting document, Future Landscapes.

The paper draws together work by Ian Houlston, Director at LDA Design and Mel Croll, Landscape Officer at Devon County Council who Natural England invited to contribute their thoughts to widen the topic.

It also draws on the experience of other members of the Project Advisory Group, specifically comments by former directors of landscape planning at LUC, Lyndis Cole and Carys Swanwick (former Head of the Department of Landscape, The University of Sheffield).

The paper examines what our landscapes need to achieve to meet the challenges we face now and in the future. It sets out how the LCA process must address head-on the effects of ongoing climate change and biodiversity decline, changes in our farmed landscapes and the challenge of degraded landscapes.

It stresses the importance of meeting the development needs and well-being of our growing population while creating sustainable landscapes. It calls for future landscapes that maximise carbon sequestration and storage, are resilient and adaptable, enhance biodiversity and are valued for what they offer people.