Landscape and Visual Assessments
We are expert and experenced Landscape Architects and Consultants working across Ireland and the UK.
Supporting developers, planners, architects, and landowners with clear, evidence-based landscape advice.
LANDSCAPE AND VISUAL ASSESSMENT CONSULTANTS
Our landscape and visual assessment consultants provide expert evaluation of landscape character, visual amenity and nightscape effects for developments across England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. We support planning applications, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), site promotion and design refinement – ensuring landscape and visual considerations are addressed early, proportionately and in line with national guidance.
PROFESSIONAL CAPABILITY STATEMENT
We tailor our assessments to project scale, planning context and environmental sensitivity, combining desktop analysis, fieldwork and advanced visualisation. All assessments are delivered in accordance with Landscape Institute guidance, and supported by specialists in ecology, lighting and photography..
Discover the Journey That Built Our Story
We are passionately commited to helping to deliver the projects that form the backbone of modern society .These include renewable energy, residential, sustainable transport, healthcare and education sectors.We understand that this requires a highly adaptable approach. Organizations operating across these core sectors are essential to global Sustainable Development and align with ambitious regional frameworks like Ireland 2040.
Our Professional Commitment
- Compliance with Industry Standards: Following established frameworks like the Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (GLVIA), We ensure our methodology is systematically structured. This guarantees that all potential changes to landscape character and visual amenities are accurately measured.
- Environmental Stewardship: A central commitment is preserving environmental integrity. We evaluate impacts on topography, vegetation, and local ecosystems, ensuring new projects sit sensitively within their surroundings.
- Impact Mitigation: Beyond assessing damage, We are committed to proactively identifying mitigation measures. This involves recommending design alterations or strategic planting to offset negative aesthetic and environmental effects.
- Robust Visualization: We provide transparent visual solutions, utilizing digital tools such as photomontages, wireframes, and Zones of Theoretical Visibility (ZTV) to support planning applications and ease community concerns
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Professional Consultants With Expert Solutions
Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) is the industry standard process used to identify the effect of new development on surrounding views and landscapes; it is fundamental in both supporting and assessing planning applications and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). AAH is a Landscape Institute Registered Practice boasting a highly skilled team of Landscape Architects experienced in delivering LVIA across a broad range of project scales and sectors. We are Members of the Irish Landscape Institute , offering support to EIA development, planning applications, written representation appeals, expert witness and proof of evidence for appeal hearings and public inquiry.
Our team undertake LVIA in accordance with current best practice methodologies set out within the Landscape Institute’s ‘Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment’ third edition (GLVIA3) with services offered on a standalone basis or as component parts of wider studies,.these most commonly include;
- Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA)
- Landscape and Visual Appraisal (LVA)
- Townscape Character Assessment (TCA)
- Landscape Character Assessment (LCA)
- Zone of Theoretical Visibility (ZTV)
- Landscape Mitigation Plans.
Comprehensive Solutions For Modern Development
We help to understand a site’s sensitivities collaborate with other professionals to adapt development proposals to be sympathetic and complement their setting.
What is LVIA
A Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) evaluates the effects of a proposed development on the landscape as a resource (its character, fabric, and quality) and on people’s views (visual receptors such as residents, visitors, road users, and users of Public Rights of Way (PRoW).
When and Who Requires LVIA
In the Ireland and UK, a Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) is generally required when a proposed development is likely to have a significant effect on landscape character, townscape character, seascape character, or visual amenity. It is most commonly submitted as part of a planning application or Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Steps in Preparing LVIA
Typical LVIA Workflow
Scoping → Desk Study → Site Survey → Baseline → Viewpoint Selection → Impact Assessment → Visualisations → Mitigation → Residual Effects → Reporting
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