Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment in Devon

Devon has two National Parks, five National Landscapes and two long coastlines, and much of the rest of the county is open, rolling farmland seen from high ground. Very few sites in Devon are far from a designated landscape or its setting. We prepare LVIAs, Landscape and Visual Appraisals and Technical Notes for housing, agricultural, tourism and commercial schemes across the county.

The landscapes of Devon

The Culm (NCA 149) covers much of north-west Devon: an open, rolling plateau of heavy clay soils cut by deep wooded valleys, with sparse settlement, pastoral farming and patches of rare Culm grassland, ending at a dramatic folded Atlantic coastline. Its openness means new buildings on the plateau tops are often seen over long distances.

Exmoor (NCA 145) and Dartmoor (NCA 150) are high moorland blocks with steep wooded combes and valleys on their edges. Sites in the farmed landscapes around them are frequently seen from the moorland, so the setting of the National Parks is a recurring issue well outside their boundaries.

The Devon Redlands (NCA 148) around Exeter, Crediton and Tiverton are a gentler landscape of red soils, rolling hills and hedged fields, while South Devon (NCA 151) is a landscape of steep rounded hills, sunken lanes, high hedgebanks and deep river estuaries. The Blackdowns (NCA 147) form the plateau and scarp along the Somerset border.

Below the national level, each council relies on its own landscape character assessment. In northern Devon, North Devon and Torridge councils published an updated Joint Landscape Character Assessment in 2023, prepared by LUC, alongside the North Devon Seascape Character Assessment. Devon County Council also maintains the county-wide Devon Character Areas.

Designated landscapes

Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks, and the North Devon Coast, South Devon, East Devon, Blackdown Hills and Tamar Valley National Landscapes, together cover a large share of the county. Since 26 December 2023, councils and other public bodies have been under a duty to "seek to further" the purposes of these landscapes, which has raised the bar for development within them and in their setting.

Exmoor is also an International Dark Sky Reserve, and northern Devon is part of the North Devon UNESCO Biosphere. For sites near either, external lighting and glazing belong in the landscape assessment.

Planning policy and constraints

Each part of Devon has its own local plan and landscape policy. In northern Devon, the North Devon and Torridge Local Plan 2011–2031 sets out landscape and seascape character policy (Policy DM08A) and the councils publish specific guidance on what an LVIA should contain, including a baseline based on the joint character assessment, a Zone of Theoretical Visibility and photomontages where needed.

With no Green Belt, the main tests in Devon are landscape character, the special qualities of the National Parks and National Landscapes, and coastal policy. Major development in a National Park or National Landscape also has to pass the exceptional circumstances test in the NPPF.

What this means for your application

• Check the setting, not just the boundary. Many sites sit just outside Dartmoor, Exmoor or a National Landscape but are clearly visible from it.
• Use the right character assessment. Use the latest district study, such as the 2023 North Devon and Torridge assessment, rather than a generic county description.
• Plan for long views. Open plateaux, moorland edges and the coast give long views, so a Zone of Theoretical Visibility before viewpoints are agreed avoids surprises.

Our experience in Devon

Our Devon work includes landscape evidence for a rural site in North Devon, close to the edge of Exmoor, where the setting of the National Park and the character of a small village shaped the approach. We also work regularly across the border in Somerset and Dorset. See our Somerset and Dorset pages and our projects.

Our Devon services

• Landscape Technical Notes: desktop assessment for pre-application or householder schemes, from £750 + VAT
• Landscape and Visual Appraisals for proportionate assessment of less sensitive schemes, from £1,950 + VAT (see LVA consultants)
• Full Landscape and Visual Impact Assessments (LVIAs) to GLVIA3, from £2,950 + VAT, including EIA chapters
• 3D wireframes and photomontages prepared in-house (see visualisations)
• Landscape plans at every scale: a concept strategy for an outline application, a landscape plan for a full application, and a detailed hard and soft landscape plan to discharge conditions
• Landscape and ecological management plans
• Responses to landscape officer comments and appeal support

Frequently asked questions

• Do I need an LVIA for a planning application in Devon?
  It depends on the scale of the scheme and how visible and sensitive the site is. Devon councils will usually expect landscape evidence for development in or near Dartmoor, Exmoor or a National Landscape, on the coast, and for larger schemes in open countryside. For smaller schemes a Landscape and Visual Appraisal or Technical Note is often proportionate.
• Which landscape designations apply in Devon?
  Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks, and the North Devon Coast, South Devon, East Devon, Blackdown Hills and Tamar Valley National Landscapes. Exmoor is also an International Dark Sky Reserve. There is no Green Belt in Devon.
• Which landscape character assessment should my LVIA use?
  Natural England's National Character Areas give the broad context, and the local district assessment gives the detail. In North Devon and Torridge that is the 2023 Joint Landscape Character Assessment and the North Devon Seascape Character Assessment.
• How much does an LVIA cost in Devon?
  Our fees start at £750 + VAT for a desktop Landscape Technical Note, £1,950 + VAT for a Landscape and Visual Appraisal and £2,950 + VAT for a full LVIA. Wireframes and photomontages are quoted alongside the assessment. We give a fixed fee after reviewing your site. See our pricing page.
• Do you cover the whole of Devon?
  Yes. Our Wells office covers Devon alongside Somerset, Dorset and Bristol and Bath, and we work across the whole county.

Sources and further reading: Natural England National Character Area profiles, Torridge District Council LVIA guidance, LUC: North Devon and Torridge LCA. Information checked October 2026.