Review of Historical Areas of Attractive Landscape

We would like to commission a landscape designation study that will refresh the AALs considering the findings of the LCA 2022 to allow us consideration of designating the refreshed AALs in the New City Plan. The list below sets out our aims of the study:

• review the AALs (AALs as they were defined in Milton Keynes Local Plan- Brickhill's and Ouse Valley AALs) with the consideration of the valued landscape characteristics highlighted in the LCTs of the LCA 2022 study.
• develop knowledge and understanding of special qualities and values, landscape and cultural features which contribute to valued landscape and consider sensitivity of landscape to change in the AALs
• provide an evidence base which can be used to inform future designation of valued landscape as AALs in the New City Plan
• provide evidence which will provide baseline against which to assess the impact of proposed development which will aid the responses to planning applications/appeals in the context of NPPF.
• the following criteria should be considered in the future assessment: distinctiveness, perceptual/special character, landscape and scenic quality, natural character, cultural character, function (local context).
• the study is to be based on the desktop assessment and field surveys where required.
• The report is to lay out which parts of the old AALs within the LCTs are worthy designation and why based on judgments made in relation to the criteria used in the assessment and in particular whether the areas contains a large number of valued attributes and characteristics and if they are of particular importance to warrant designation of the AALs within the LCT areas.