Landscape, housing and settlements

Housebuilding can have significant impacts on Scotland's urban and rural landscapes.  Well located and designed, new housing and settlements can enhance the local environment and provide attractive and healthy places to live.  However, demand for new housing is high in many towns and rural areas, and poorly located and designed development may threaten their character and identity.  A cumulative loss of landscape quality has already become apparent as suburban housing estates - often devised with little appreciation of local character or a sense of place - have taken shape around the fringes of our towns.

In rural areas there has been a rise in the number of people wishing to live in the accessible parts of the countryside while continuing to work in towns and cities within commuting distance.  Others wish to live or take second homes in remoter rural areas. Some landscapes will probably have to accommodate considerable change in the coming years.  This change needs to be planned and managed so that the effects are positive.

The following references provide a guide to design principles and techniques to help developers and planners meet housing demand whilst respecting and enhancing the landscape within which they sit.

Techniques that assess landscape sensitivity and capacity are used to help select suitable locations for new houses and settlement expansion.  This technique is often used to inform the allocation of development sites in development plans.  See our tools and techniques pages for more help on site selection and design.

The Scottish Natural Heritage report New housing, settlement expansion and the natural heritage    provides guidance on how to work with the planning system to secure positive outcomes for the landscape and natural heritage of Scotland.

Planning Advice Note 44 Fitting New Housing Development into the Landscape   considers design principles for larger developments on the edge of built up areas.  The advice offers suggestions to help planners, developers and local communities achieve residential developments which are in harmony with their landscape setting and which make a more positive contribution to the character of existing settlements.

Planning Advice Note 72 Housing in the Countryside  sets out key design principles which need to be taken into account by applicants and planning authorities.  The purpose is to create more opportunities for good quality rural housing which respects Scottish landscapes and building traditions, by considering the location and design of new housing in relation to the surrounding landscape.

Planning Advice Note 65 Planning and Open Space  .  Open spaces are important settings for people in settlements to interact with the natural environment, and they provide habitats for wildlife.  They can also be important in defining the character and identity of settlements.  This PAN gives advice on the role of the planning system in protecting and enhancing existing open spaces and providing high quality new spaces.