Navigate Protected Landscapes, Heritage Settings and Biodiversity Requirements with Confidence

As early as possible- ideally at RIBA Stage 0-1 (Strategic Definition / Preparation & Brief).

The earlier we're engaged, the more value we add. At inception stage, we can:

• Inform site selection and layout before costly design commitments • Integrate landscape, heritage, and BNG into concept design from day one • Identify constraints and opportunities through baseline assessment • Shape building positioning, access routes, and Green Infrastructure strategy collaboratively • Build LPA confidence through proactive pre-application engagement

Appointing us after design is fixed means we're documenting rather than shaping — and risks discovering issues that require costly redesign. Early engagement = lower risk, faster consent, better outcomes.

Fees are proportionate to project scale and complexity. Every project is different, so we provide bespoke quotes after understanding your specific requirements.

Typical fee ranges:

• Single dwelling (Para 79 / self-build): £4,000 - £8,000 for integrated LVIA, heritage, and BNG • Small residential (2-5 units): £6,000 - £12,000 • Medium residential (6-20 units): £12,000 - £25,000 • Tourism/commercial: £15,000 - £35,000+ depending on scale and viewpoint requirements • Major/EIA projects: Bespoke quotes — typically £25,000 - £60,000+

What's included: All three frameworks (landscape, heritage, BNG), baseline surveys, integrated design support, pre-app engagement, full planning submission documentation, and post-submission support.

Typical timeline: 3-6 months from appointment to submission-ready evidence.

Phase 1 (Strategic Assessment): 4-6 weeks Baseline surveys, desktop studies, site walkovers, constraints analysis, pre-app meeting preparation.

Phase 2 (Design Development): 8-12 weeks Iterative design workshops, LVIA viewpoint work, heritage assessment, habitat creation on-site delivery appraisal (coordinated with ecologist), BNG Landscape Strategy

Phase 3 (Planning Submission): 4-6 weeks Final reports, LEMP preparation, technical drawings, planning statement input, submission-ready evidence bundle.

Variables affecting timeline:

• Seasonal constraints (breeding bird surveys, botanical surveys) • Design team coordination and iteration cycles • LPA pre-application feedback timeframes • Consultant input requirements (ecologist collaboration)

We always work to your programme and can accelerate timelines where needed, but quality integrated assessment needs adequate time for proper design development and stakeholder engagement.

LVIA (Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment) assesses how development affects:

• Landscape character: The physical attributes, perceptual qualities, and special landscape qualities of National Parks/AONBs • Visual amenity: What people see from specific viewpoints and how their views change

Heritage Setting Assessment assesses how development affects:

• Significance: The architectural, historic, artistic, or archaeological interest of heritage assets • Setting: The surroundings in which a heritage asset is experienced and how that contributes to significance

Why both matter:

• LVIA satisfies landscape policy (National Park/AONB Section 62 duty, landscape character protection) • Heritage assessment satisfies historic environment policy (preserving setting of heritage assets under NPPF) • Many sites require BOTH — a Listed Building in a National Park needs coordinated assessment of landscape AND heritage impacts

Our integrated approach ensures the two assessments inform each other, and mitigation addresses both landscape and heritage concerns simultaneously.

Yes- mandatory under Environment Act 2021 for most applications.

Since February 2024 (major developments) and April 2024 (small sites), planning applications must demonstrate 10% measurable biodiversity net gain assessed through Biodiversity Metric 4.0.

Key requirements:

• BNG plans mandatory showing baseline habitat assessment, post-development habitat creation, and 30-year management • Metric 4.0 calculations demonstrating 10% net gain in biodiversity units • Long-term management plans (minimum 30 years) with monitoring and reporting protocols • Enhancement, not just mitigation—maintaining existing biodiversity is not sufficient

Exemptions are narrow:

• Householder applications • Some self-build and custom housebuilding • Biodiversity gain sites delivering BNG for other developments • Development consent orders (DCOs) for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects

This is NOT optional. LPAs are legally required to refuse applications that don't demonstrate 10% net gain, unless statutory exemptions apply.

Good news: When integrated from inception, BNG becomes a design opportunity rather than constraint—creating higher-quality developments with ecological enhancement built into the landscape strategy.

Yes- Para 79 applications are a core specialism.

Paragraph 79 (formerly Para 55/79) allows exceptional country houses in protected open countryside if they demonstrate outstanding design quality and enhance their immediate setting.

Our Para 79 service includes:

• Landscape strategy demonstrating how the dwelling enhances the site and responds to landscape character • LVIA showing the house is appropriate in its National Park/AONB context • Heritage assessment if near Listed Buildings or in Conservation Areas • BNG strategy showing substantial biodiversity enhancement through garden design, native planting, habitat creation • Design integration working with architects to ensure landscape and architecture are conceived as one

Critical success factor: Para 79 applications succeed when landscape enhancement is foundational to the design concept, not an afterthought. We work with you and your architect from initial concept to demonstrate the dwelling genuinely enhances its setting.

Absolutely- we regularly work across the Midlands, North of England, and nationally on protected landscape and heritage-sensitive projects.

Our geographic reach:

• Peak District National Park (core specialism) • Yorkshire Dales, Lake District, North York Moors National Parks • Heritage estates and Conservation Areas across the Midlands and North • Urban extension masterplans requiring LVIA and heritage assessment

Our value beyond the Peak District:

We bring the same rigorous integrated approach—LVIA, heritage, and BNG coordinated from inception—to any protected landscape or heritage-sensitive context. Having worked extensively in National Parks, we understand the heightened scrutiny these locations demand and how to navigate statutory consultee objections.

For projects outside the Peak District, we combine our protected landscape expertise with local LPA understanding to ensure your submission meets planning officer expectations first time.

We coordinate and integrate the work of specialist consultants, rather than replace them.

What we DO:

• Heritage setting assessment — We assess how development affects the setting and context of heritage assets (Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas, Registered Parks & Gardens), which is closely linked to landscape character and visual impact • BNG landscape strategy — We develop the Biodiversity Net Gain strategy, habitat creation plans, and Landscape & Ecological Management Plans (LEMPs), working alongside ecologists who calculate the BNG metric • Integration and coordination — We work alongside heritage specialists and ecologists to ensure their findings inform landscape design, and our landscape mitigation enhances both heritage context and biodiversity.

What we DON'T do (and why you need specialists):

• Heritage impact assessment of primary assets — Detailed assessment of significance, fabric, and direct impact on Listed Buildings requires a specialist conservation architect or heritage consultant • Ecological surveys and BNG metric calculations — Baseline ecology surveys (protected species, Phase 1 habitat, bat/bird surveys) and Metric 4.0 calculations require a qualified ecologist

The integration challenge:

Most projects appoint three separate consultants who produce disconnected reports. Planning officers must then piece together how landscape mitigation, heritage impacts, and biodiversity strategies relate to each other.

Our role: Joining the dots.

Think of the planning submission as a jigsaw puzzle. The ecologist provides biodiversity baseline pieces and metric calculations. The heritage specialist provides significance assessment pieces. We provide the landscape and visual impact pieces—but critically, we also assemble the puzzle, showing planning officers how:

• Landscape screening enhances heritage setting while creating habitat corridors • Native hedgerow planting respects historic field patterns while delivering biodiversity net gain • Habitat creation design responds to landscape character, heritage context, AND ecological networks simultaneously

The result: Planning officers receive a coordinated, coherent submission where landscape, heritage, and biodiversity evidence reinforces each other—not three disconnected reports they must reconcile themselves.

This integrated approach is what Peak District planning officers expect. It's what makes complex protected landscape applications succeed.

Yes- arboricultural constraints sit at the intersection of all three planning frameworks. Trees in Registered Parks & Gardens have heritage protection. Mature trees contribute to landscape character (LVIA). Tree retention delivers biodiversity value (BNG).

We coordinate closely with arboricultural consultants to ensure:

• Tree surveys and constraints mapping inform site layout from inception • Arboricultural Method Statements (AMS) align with landscape design proposals • Tree protection measures respect heritage significance and deliver biodiversity outcomes • Engineering solutions (e.g., micropile foundations, raised platforms, no-dig construction) protect root protection areas while enabling development

Example: For a Later Living development in a Registered Park & Garden, we coordinated a raised platform micropile solution with structural engineers and the arboricultural consultant—protecting woodland edge trees (heritage + biodiversity) while delivering accessible outdoor spaces (landscape design). The integrated AMS enabled condition discharge and construction to commence.

We don't prepare tree surveys or AMS ourselves—we coordinate with specialist arboricultural consultants to ensure tree retention strategies integrate with landscape, heritage, and biodiversity objectives.

Working alongside your arborist, we ensure:

✓ Root protection areas are shown on landscape masterplans ✓ Planting strategies complement retained tree canopies ✓ Hard landscape construction methods protect existing trees ✓ BNG metric calculations properly value retained mature trees ✓ Heritage tree retention (e.g., parkland specimens) is celebrated in design narrative.

We don't prepare tree surveys or AMS ourselves—we coordinate with specialist arboricultural consultants to ensure tree retention strategies integrate with landscape, heritage, and biodiversity objectives.