INTRODUCTION
This chapter sets out some of the key principles which underpin Landscape Character Assessment. It goes on to introduce the basic process which is used, identifying a series of steps which should be followed. The method which is described here and which is being widely used throughout the United Kingdom has emerged over a period of some 15 to 20 years. It has been continuously developed and refined in the light of experience and will no doubt continue to evolve in future. Aspects of the development of Landscape Character Assessment are described in Topic Paper 1.

The approach described here is common to both Scotland and England. Similar work is also carried out in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland, and although Wales has taken a different approach in its LANDMAP initiative, some of the principles set out here chime with practice in Wales. The examples used are drawn predominantly from Scotland and England, although reference is also made to work in Ireland.

Landscape Character Assessment offers a framework for techniques that can be used in combinations according to the situation, not least the resources and funds available to carry out the work. The agencies do not intend that this advice should be overly prescriptive - practitioners must have some flexibility to respond to local circumstance. The guidance is intended to establish some basic ground rules, describing the essence of the approach, clarifying some of the terminology, and pointing to good practice.