LDP11 Landscape Sensitivity and Capacity Assessment for Onshore Wind Turbine Development

The digital plans contained on the Appendix 6 CD illustrate the range of LANDMAP data which was used to inform the evaluations of sensitivity to wind energy developments for each of the landscape units. Information from the following 21 LANDMAP layers (Evaluated Aspect layers) was overlaid onto the study area and represents the LANDMAP data as at March 2013:

Visual & Sensory Datasets
VS3: Land Cover
VS4: Topographic Form
VS5: Land Cover Pattern
VS6: Settlement Pattern
VS8: Scale
VS 9: Enclosure
VS18: Level of Human Access
VS24: Perceptual and Sensory Qualities
VS27: Condition
VS46: Scenic Quality
VS47: Integrity
VS48: Character Sense of Place
VS49: Rarity
VS50: Overall Evaluation

Historic Landscape Datasets
HL35: Integrity
HL38: Rarity
HL40: Overall Evaluation

Geological Landscape Datasets
GL31: Rarity / Uniqueness
GL33: Overall Evaluation

Landscape Habitats Datasets
LH42: Connectivity / Cohesion
LH45: Overall Evaluation

Cultural Landscape Datasets
Although GVLIA recommends that data from all five LANDMAP layers should be used in any assessment, the Cultural Landscape information provided in the Cultural Landscape layer was not sufficiently detailed to be useful for this study²¹.

²¹ LANDMAP Information Guidance Note 3 doesn’t identify any specific evaluation criteria for Cultural Landscape