Planning approval has been granted for a proposed residential development comprising 15 dwellings in Trefor on the Llŷn Peninsula. 

Given the site’s location within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), a Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) was required to inform the planning process and ensure that potential effects on landscape character and visual amenity were fully understood.

Land Studio was appointed by Williams Homes to provide landscape consultancy services, including the preparation of the LVIA, which assessed the site’s landscape and visual context and the likely impacts of the proposed development on the AONB. In accordance with Planning Policy Wales (Edition 12), the assessment recognised the statutory purpose of AONB designation and the requirement to conserve and enhance natural beauty, landscape character, and scenic quality.

The LVIA played a key role in guiding the design evolution of the scheme, ensuring that development was sensitively sited and appropriately mitigated to minimise landscape and visual effects, while also supporting the delivery of high-quality social housing. 

Achieving an appropriate balance between landscape protection and the provision of housing to support the long-term sustainability of Welsh-speaking communities was central to the successful outcome of the project.