Our work

Placemaking & Planning

National Landscape teams work very hard to protect these designated areas in the public interest, and to ensure sustainable, resilient, equitable development that is compatible with international climate and nature restoration treaties, as well as national priorities and the public interest.

National Landscape teams collectively appraise an average of 4500 development schemes, land management schemes or Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects per year.

Protected Landscapes are often characterised as being blockages to necessary and sustainable development. In reality, the evidence does not bear this out: the majority (80%, on average) of planning applications on greenfield land in National Landscapes are given permission. Despite teams' best efforts, the proportion of truly affordable or sustainable homes in National Landscapes is very low, and too often new developments do not work well for existing communities, or new residents, or climate and nature goals.

119 hectares
of greenfield land in National Landscapes lost to housing development each year (average)
16
dwellings per hectare on greenfied National Landscape land (average)
16%
of new dwellings on greenfield National Landscape land considered affordable according to Government's definition