Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment in Scotland

We take on landscape and visual commissions across Scotland. The method is the same GLVIA3 approach we use everywhere, but the policy framework, the designations and the evidence base are Scottish, and a good assessment uses them from the start.

Policy: NPF4

National Planning Framework 4 is part of the statutory development plan in Scotland, alongside each council's Local Development Plan. Policy 4 (natural places) sets the tests for landscape: development in a National Park or National Scenic Area is supported only where the objectives of the designation will not be compromised, or where any significant adverse effects are clearly outweighed by benefits of national importance. Local landscape designations and Wild Land Areas also have specific protection.

Policy 8 (green belts) restricts development in the green belts around Scotland's cities to a defined list of uses, so landscape and visual evidence is often central to applications on the edge of Edinburgh, Glasgow or Aberdeen.

Landscape evidence in Scotland

NatureScot publishes a national Landscape Character Assessment covering the whole of Scotland, which is the starting point for the baseline, together with any local landscape capacity or sensitivity studies. NatureScot also publishes guidance on assessing effects on Wild Land Areas and on visualisations, which is widely used alongside the Landscape Institute's guidance.

Working with us in Scotland

We work in Scotland on the same basis as elsewhere: a fixed fee agreed upfront, a site visit and viewpoint photography for every LVA and LVIA, and visualisations prepared in-house. We review the relevant Local Development Plan, NPF4 and the NatureScot evidence for each site, and agree viewpoints with the council where that is the practice.

Our Scotland 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
• Assessments tested against NPF4 Policy 4 and Policy 8, and NatureScot guidance
• 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 you work in Scotland?
  Yes. We take on LVIAs, Landscape and Visual Appraisals and townscape assessments across Scotland, with a site visit for every assessment.
• Is an LVIA in Scotland different from one in England?
  The method is the same: GLVIA3. The policy and evidence are Scottish: NPF4, the Local Development Plan, NatureScot's Landscape Character Assessment, and designations such as National Scenic Areas and Wild Land Areas.
• What is a National Scenic Area?
  National Scenic Areas are Scotland's nationally important scenic landscapes, broadly equivalent to National Landscapes in England. There are 40 of them, and NPF4 Policy 4 protects them.
• How much does an LVIA cost in Scotland?
  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.
• Does NPF4 protect wild land?
  Yes. NPF4 Policy 4 gives specific protection to Wild Land Areas, and development within them has to show how effects on wild land qualities have been assessed and minimised.

Sources and further reading: National Planning Framework 4, NatureScot Landscape Character Assessment, NatureScot National Scenic Areas. Information checked October 2026.