Landscape Susceptibility in relation to Energy Generation, Storage and Transmission - SPD

1.1.1 The South Norfolk Landscape Susceptibility Study Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) provides additional guidance on matters covered by the South Norfolk Local Plan, and is a material consideration for decision makers.

1.1.2 The SPD expands on district-wide policies in the Local Plan and provides additional details on how they will be implemented.

1.1.3 The purpose of this susceptibility study is to assess the susceptibility of different landscapes to various types of energy-related development. Besides this the document also provides design guidance for the different types of development which might come forwards. Some of the guidelines apply to all of the development scenarios, but others are specific to the type of development.

1.1.4 The Supplementary Planning Document provides additional advice and guidance on protecting and enhancing local character and achieving sustainable development, and expands on policies set out in the adopted Local Plan, in particular Policy 3 – Environmental Protection and Enhancement in the Greater Norwich Local Plan.

1.1.5 Specific objectives of the SPD are to:

• Enable applicants to understand the relative susceptibility of the landscape to different types of energy-related development
• Assist applicant's understanding of the local context including locally distinctive characteristics and their susceptibility to change
• Help ensure that proposals are appropriately designed to be compatible with their surroundings

1.2.1 Users are recommended to refer to the South Norfolk Landscape Character Assessment to understand which Landscape Character Area a particular site falls within. Users can then refer to the overall findings in Section 5 or to the more detailed Landscape Susceptibility Analysis in Appendix 3 to understand how susceptible the landscape is to different scales of development. Applicants should also refer to the design guidance in Section 4 to help ensure that development proposals make a positive contribution to local character and distinctiveness, and achieve good design.

1.2.2 The purpose of the SPD is to provide additional evidence about South Norfolk's landscape and this evidence will be a material consideration for a wide variety of energy-related development proposals. Ranging from Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) that affect South Norfolk to all other schemes under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 which are determined by the Council.

1.2.3 All proposals for energy generation, storage, and transmission must seek to achieve sustainable development, and it should be recognised that landscape effects are often a significant consideration. On which basis South Norfolk Council will use this SPD as evidence to resist inappropriate proposals for development in landscapes with a high susceptibility and vulnerability to change, unless significant mitigations are being provided that address the harm.

1.3.1 The district of South Norfolk is increasingly finding itself the host of many energy-related NSIPs (nationally significant infrastructure projects) and being asked to determine energy-related planning applications. Many of these projects are attracted to the district due to the proximity of the electricity transmission hub known as Norwich Main, which is located in the north of the district, to the south of Norwich.

1.3.2 South Norfolk Council has previously published a study on the sensitivity of the landscape of the district to further wind turbine developments (South Norfolk District, Wind Turbine Landscape Sensitivity Study^[1], dated April 2006, with final amendments January 2008), but consideration of other energy-related schemes has yet to be undertaken.

1.3.3 The council has been successful in bidding for funding under the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities' Innovation and Capacity Fund, which aims to help speed-up infrastructure delivery. Part of the funding has enabled the council to commission a study to assess the sensitivities and capacities of the various landscapes of South Norfolk district to accommodate energy-related NSIP and non-NSIP projects.

1.3.4 The aim of the study is to provide guidance for those seeking to identify suitable sites for the location of energy generation, storage and transmission projects. It will also be used to inform the council's responses to such proposals in the context of national and local planning policies and the need to reasonably minimise any adverse effects on the landscape and communities of South Norfolk, and to provide guidance as to which types of development may or may not be appropriate. Further, the study will also help in the formulation of criteria against which specific proposals may be assessed and planning applications determined.

1.4.1 The Landscape Partnership was commissioned by South Norfolk Council in April 2024 to undertake the study of the susceptibility of the landscape of the district of South Norfolk in relation to energy generation, storage and transmission.

1.4.2 The results of the study are presented in this report, with further assessment and analysis contained in the accompanying appendices.

1.5.1 The study has three main objectives:

1. To identify the landscape susceptibility of different types and scales of energy development/infrastructure in relation to the seven generic landscape types (LTs) in the district (A: Rural River Valley, B: Tributary Farmland, C: Tributary Farmland with Parkland, D: Settled Plateau Farmland, E: Plateau Farmland, F: Valley Urban Fringe and G: Fringe Farmland) as defined in the South Norfolk Landscape Character Assessment^[2], along with the 20 geographically discrete landscape character areas (LCAs) identified in the assessment.
2. To develop guidance to assist with the site-specific design of different energy development/infrastructure projects, including the appropriate approach to layout, siting and landscape proposals within the district and its different landscape types.
3. To develop an approach to specific planning guidance that can be used in the assessment of development proposals for energy development/infrastructure within the different landscape types within South Norfolk district informed by (i) above.

1.5.2 The study includes a more detailed local landscape character assessment to identify the special qualities and characteristics of the landscape surrounding the Norwich Main (which, as noted above, is a particular focus for energy-related projects) and how they might be affected by energy-related projects. The study area for this assessment encompasses the landscape within a 5km radius of Norwich Main but excluding areas within the Norwich City administrative boundary.

1.5.3 The study also includes specific consideration of South Norfolk Local Plan 2015 Policy DM4.6, which seeks to protect the landscape setting of the A47 Norwich Southern Bypass as it passes to the south of Norwich, and how that might inform energy-related projects.

1.5.4 The study will be used to provide strategic guidance on the landscape factors influencing the location of energy development/infrastructure within South Norfolk district. Its intention is to guide development rather than set absolute thresholds.

1.6.1 The Landscape Sensitivity Study is structured as follows:

• Section 1 provides an introduction to the Landscape Susceptibility Study and establishes its purpose.
• Section 2 sets out the methodology which has been used to undertake the Landscape Susceptibility Study.
• Section 3 provides a high-level summary of planning policy as it relates to the design and the landscape siting of energy-related development.
• Section 4 identifies the different types and scales of energy projects and infrastructure that have been considered in the study, i.e. the energy-related development scenarios. It includes an overview of their potential effects on the landscape, and design guidance to minimise such effects.
• Section 5 provides an overview of the LTs and LCAs within the district and presents a summary of the findings of the Landscape Susceptibility Study for each of the development scenarios as they relate to each LT and LCA.
• Section 6 is a local landscape character assessment of a 5km radius of the Norwich Main.
• Section 7 considers how the Norwich Southern Bypass Protection Zone policies might influence the form and siting of energy-related development.

1.6.2 The report is supported by a number of accompanying appendices:

• Appendix 1: Figures
• Appendix 2: Criteria for assessing Susceptibility to Change
• Appendix 3: Landscape Susceptibility Analysis
• Appendix 4: Local Landscape Character Analysis

^[1] South Norfolk District, Wind Turbine Landscape Sensitivity Study, Land Use Consultants, April 2006, final amendments January 2008 

^[2] South Norfolk Landscape Assessment, Landscape Character Areas of the Rural Policy Area, Land Use Consultants, April 2006