Landscape character: NCA, LCA, sensitivity and LVIA explained

 

Landscape planning is full of similar-sounding terms. A site may sit within a National Character Area, a council may have a Landscape Character Assessment, the evidence base may include a Landscape Sensitivity Assessment, and a planning application may need an LVIA.

They are not interchangeable, and none of them should automatically be treated as a landscape designation.

This page explains the evidence hierarchy behind landscape character in England, how the 159 National Character Areas fit with local assessment, and when character evidence turns into a project-specific Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment.

 

What does landscape character mean?

 

Landscape character is the distinct and recognisable pattern created by the combination of geology, landform, soils, vegetation, settlement, land use, historic features and other influences that make one landscape different from another.

It is about what a landscape is like, not simply whether people think the view is attractive. Two areas can both be rural and visually pleasant while having very different character because of field size, tree cover, topography, settlement pattern, historic development or land use.

That distinction also explains why landscape character and visual impact are not the same thing. A proposal can alter landscape character without being visible from everywhere, while a highly visible change does not automatically amount to unacceptable harm.

 

What are National Character Areas?

 

Natural England divides England into 159 National Character Areas (NCAs). Their boundaries follow changes in landscape rather than local-authority or parish boundaries.

Each NCA profile provides a broad strategic description covering matters such as landscape, biodiversity, geodiversity, history, settlement, ecosystem services and environmental opportunities. The profiles are useful for understanding the bigger landscape in which a site sits.

An NCA is not a planning designation. Being within an NCA does not create a separate permission or prohibition, and every part of England falls within one. Its value is as evidence and context.

 

What is a Landscape Character Assessment?

 

A Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) identifies, maps and describes areas of distinct landscape character. It can be prepared at national, county, district, borough, neighbourhood or site scale.

Local planning authorities commonly use LCAs to understand the character of their area and to support local-plan policies, development management, settlement studies, landscape strategies and design work. Natural England’s guidance recognises that local LCAs can complement the broader NCA profiles by providing much finer-grained information.

When using an LCA, always check its date, purpose and scale. A district-wide assessment written many years ago may still describe enduring geology and settlement patterns well, but it may not capture recent development, woodland change, new infrastructure or current policy context.

 

NCA and LCA: which carries more weight?

 

It is not really a competition. They answer questions at different scales.

The strongest assessment will normally start with the national context, move through the best available local evidence and then assess the actual site and proposal at an appropriate level of detail.

 

What is a Landscape Sensitivity Assessment?

 

A Landscape Sensitivity Assessment asks how susceptible a landscape is to a particular type of change, taking account of the value attached to that landscape.

The development type matters. A landscape may be highly sensitive to a large solar farm but less sensitive to a modest settlement-edge extension, or the other way around. A sensitivity assessment should therefore identify the change being tested rather than giving one universal score for every possible proposal.

Planning Practice Guidance recognises landscape sensitivity or capacity assessment as evidence which can help authorities understand the type and scale of development that might be accommodated in a particular area. It is especially relevant to local-plan site selection and spatial strategy.

 

What is landscape capacity?

 

The term landscape capacity appears frequently in older local-plan evidence and is still encountered in planning work. It generally describes the extent to which a landscape may be able to accommodate a particular type and amount of development without unacceptable effects on its character or value.

Modern professional guidance often places greater emphasis on clearly defined landscape sensitivity rather than presenting capacity as a fixed property of a landscape. The practical lesson is to read the methodology used in the particular study rather than relying on the title alone.

 

Where does LVIA fit?

 

A Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) is different because it assesses the likely effects of a specific development proposal.

An LVIA normally considers both:

• landscape effects — changes to landscape elements, character and value
• visual effects — changes experienced by people at viewpoints, homes, roads, footpaths and other visual receptors

The NCA profile, local LCA and sensitivity evidence can all help establish the baseline for an LVIA, but they do not replace the project-specific fieldwork and professional judgment needed for the proposal itself.

 

Landscape character is not a landscape designation

 

This matters when reading a planning constraints search.

A site can lie within a recognised landscape character area without being within a National Landscape, National Park or local landscape designation. Character areas are primarily a way of understanding and describing landscape.

Separate designations can then add policy weight. Historic Areas of Great Landscape Value and other local landscape designations are examples of local policy layers which may use landscape-character evidence without being the same thing as the LCA.

 

How should landscape character influence a development?

 

Good landscape evidence is most useful before the layout is fixed. It can influence:

• where development sits within the landform
• which field boundaries, trees and hedgerows are retained
• building height and roofscape
• settlement form and the treatment of a settlement edge
• views from public rights of way and nearby homes
• open-space structure and green infrastructure
• planting which reflects local landscape patterns rather than generic screening
• the amount and type of development which the site can realistically absorb

This is why a landscape appraisal should not be reduced to planting a line of conifers around a scheme after the engineering and unit numbers have already been fixed.

 

Landscape character and the 2026 NPPF

 

The August 2026 NPPF expects plans and decisions to conserve and enhance the natural environment and to recognise the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside. Current national policy also requires the effects of development on landscape character to be considered, with enhanced protection for designated landscapes.

That does not create a national rule that development must copy every existing feature. Landscape character evidence is there to inform good planning judgment: understanding what is distinctive, what is sensitive to change and how a proposal can respond.

 

Practical landscape evidence checklist

 

1. Identify the NCA for the strategic landscape context
2. Find the current local LCA and identify the relevant character type or area
3. Check any sensitivity or capacity study prepared for the development type
4. Check separate designations including National Landscapes, National Parks and local landscape designations
5. Visit the site because desk-based character mapping is not a substitute for field understanding
6. Decide the proportionate assessment from a landscape note through to a full LVIA
7. Feed the findings into design before the application drawings are settled

 

Key sources

 

• Natural England: National Character Area profiles
• Natural England: Landscape and seascape character assessments
• Natural England: Landscape Sensitivity Assessment guidance
• Planning Practice Guidance: Natural environment

Other Planning Application Sections

 

Landscape Character Page Added: 28th August 2026