07 Apr 2015, 3:53 pm
In a letter (2-page / 78 KB PDF) to PINS chief executive Simon Ridley, Lewis said that several recent appeal decisions had served as "a reminder" of the principle in national planning policy that "the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside" should be recognised in local plans and planning decisions.
Lewis noted that, while certain categories of land, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Heritage Coasts enjoyed "the highest degree of protection", the impact of proposed development on the landscape outside designated areas could also be a material consideration in planning decisions.
The planning minister also took the opportunity in the letter to direct PINS to provisions in the National Planning Policy Framework and the government's Planning Policy Guidance clarifying the weight that could be given to emerging planning policies when deciding planning applications and appeals.
"The planning minister’s letter follows a string of recent appeal decisions which demonstrate the importance expected to be attached by local planning authorities to landscape character,” said planning expert Helen Stewart of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com. "Developers should be alive to the fact that even in the absence of designation, areas can nonetheless be considered to be valued landscape which the NPPF seeks to protect and enhance".