26th May 2004
100 Temple Street, Bristol, BS 8AG

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Community Strategies should aim to enhance the quality of life of local communities and contribute to the achievement of sustainable development in the UK through action to improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of the area and its inhabitants. Landscape must be a consideration in any Community Strategy: it is the relationship between people and place, the setting for our lives, an economic resource and an engine for regeneration and tourism that requires enhancement as well as protection. Investment in landscapes can inject new life into communities, and can help communities to see that existing and new landscapes are a catalyst for a better quality of life.

Government guidance emphasises the need for community strategies to reflect local needs and circumstances. Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) is a tool for identifying the features that give a locality its 'sense of place' and pinpointing what makes it different from its neighbouring areas. Understanding the landscape as an asset and opportunity can provide a framework within which to prepare Community Strategies and other community based visions.

This workshop explored how Landscape Character Assessment can be used to inform the preparation of Community Strategies and their action plans as well as broader visions for development and conservation. The workshop focused on practical examples where LCA has been used to engage communities to develop shared visions for the future economic, social and environmental development of an area.

Speakers:

Terry Robinson, The Countryside Agency:
Chair and introduction

Andy Wharton, The Countryside Agency:
'Community futures - landscape visions: Bridging the gap'

David Carman, Hampshire County Council:
'People and Landscapes: The Test Valley Community Landscape Project'

John Gittins, Cheshire Landscape Trust:
'Landscape and Community: Some Ways and Means of Engagement'

Lisa Turner, Blackdown Hills AONB:
'More than a consideration - a nationally important landscape at the heart of a community strategy: the Blackdown Hills experience'