Landscape Character Assessment

A Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) was prepared for South Hams in 2018 and replaces the earlier assessments produced in 2007 and 2008.

A Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) has been prepared for South Hams and West Devon in 2018 and replaces the earlier assessments produced in 2007 and 2008.

The South Hams and West Devon LCA provides a comprehensive analysis of the landscape within the two local planning authority areas. It describes variations in the landscape character, resulting in guidance for its future development and landscape management.

The LCA is a tool for identifying the features which give a locality its sense of place This helps to understand what the landscape is like today, how it came to be like that, and how it may change in the future. This is useful as an aid to decision-making.

The South Hams and West Devon Landscape Character Assessment:

  • provides a tool for decision-making in the development management (planning) process;
  • informs planning policy formation;
  • it guides decisions about landscape management; and
  • forms part of the evidence base for the Plymouth, South Hams and West Devon Joint Local Plan.

Further information on landscape character across Devon, including an interactive map of the landscape character assessments across the county can be found on Devon County Council's website.