Understanding and conserving the diversity of the County Durham Landscape

About this Website

The County Durham Landscape Character Assessment classifies and describes the wealth of diversity in the Durham landscape. Together with the County Durham Landscape Strategy and Landscape Guidelines, they are designed to inform decisions about how we manage the landscape in the future, helping us conserve what we value most about the countryside while accommodating growth and change.

This website is dedicated to promoting greater understanding of the character and diversity of the landscape of County Durham and guiding its future management and development. It will be of particular interest to all those who have an interest in the Durham landscape, and particularly those involved in planning, development, land management and regeneration work.

  • The Landscape Character pages describe the variety of landscapes identified in the County Durham Landscape Character Assessment, covering County Character Areas, Broad Landscape Types and Local Landscape Types. background information on the physical and human influences that have shaped the modern landscape of the county. They also give information on desginated landscapes and perceptions of the landscape past and present.
  • The Landscape Strategy pages contain information on the issues affecting the Durham Landscape and objectives for addressing them, together with spatial strategies for County Character Areas.
  • The Landscape Guidelines pages contain guidelines on a set of guidelines designed to offer advice on maintaining diversity and beauty, to conserve the landscapes for future generations.

Periodic Review 

The Landscape Assessment and Strategy were undertaken by the Durham County Council’s Landscape Section between 2000 and 2004 with the assistance of the Countryside Agency and consultants Shiels Flynn and this version of the County Durham Landscape Assessment and Strategy was formally adopted by Durham County Council Council in April 2008.

The Landscape Assessment and Strategy will be updated periodically to ensure that its content is accurate and reflects changes in the landscape, changes in the policy environment, and emerging issues. 

For further information contact us.