Randall Thorp provided landscape expert witness services on behalf of Lancaster City Council for a planning appeal concerning proposed development at Ashton Road, Lancaster. The case centred on landscape value and the effects of development on landscape character.
Ashton Road
Ashton Road
Lancaster, Lancashire
Client
Lancaster City Council
Sector
Housing and new settlements
Expertise
Expert witness
Partner Dick Longdin prepared written landscape evidence and represented the Council on landscape matters at the appeal hearing. His evidence addressed whether the site should be recognised as a valued landscape, drawing on the Landscape Institute’s guidance on assessing landscape value.
The Inspector agreed that the appeal site constituted a valued landscape and concluded that the proposals would cause substantial landscape harm. This harm was decisive: despite the Council’s housing supply position, it significantly and demonstrably outweighed the identified benefits of development.
The appeal was dismissed, with the decision demonstrating the importance of detailed landscape evidence in establishing landscape value and informing the planning balance.