Rationale
The North Pennines landscape is the product of thousands of years of interaction between people and nature. Over time, it has taken on a unique character and was considered sufficiently beautiful to be designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1988. Conserving and enhancing the quality and character of the landscape is at the heart of its national designation
The purpose of an LCA is to objectively identify and describe the unique combination of natural and human-made features that make a landscape distinct. This understanding of landscape is then used to inform planning policies and development management decisions and to guide land management in a way that protects, conserves, or enhances the existing landscape character. It does not identify solely positive aspects of a landscape – some of the things it identifies as characteristic current components of a landscape may be things which could reasonably be challenged and reversed (e.g. the negative impacts of past management practice such as the removal of drystone walls). An LCA therefore sets out what makes a place distinctive and allows for informed decision making about its future.
Key purposes of an LCA:
- To identify distinctiveness
To map and describe the unique patterns of features, such as field shapes, land cover, and settlements, that create a landscape's "sense of place." - To inform planning and policy
To provide evidence for creating local and national plans, helping to define sensitive areas and guide decisions on where and how new developments can be placed. - To guide land management
To help create plans for managing land in a way that respects its character. This can involve strategies to conserve existing features, enhance others, or restore historical aspects of the landscape. - To assess development impact
To understand a landscape's capacity for change and to assess the impact of potential new developments, such as renewable energy projects or housing, on the landscape. - To monitor change
To provide a baseline for monitoring how landscapes evolve over time and to manage that change in a sustainable way.
LCA are created at different levels (usually Character Type and Character Area. Character Types are distinctive subdivisions of a landscape that share particular characteristics – e.g. upper dale, moorland summit; Character Areas are places where these types occur, and are usually described to a finer grain of detail.
A Landscape Character Assessment for the North Pennines was updated at landscape type level in 2025. This identifies 13 Landscape Character Types – landscapes with unifying characteristics, e.g. moorland summits, or upper dale etc.
These landscape types are set out here, alongside measures for their continued conservation and enhancement.