New guidelines on LVIA

The third edition of the Guidelines for landscape and visual impact assessment (GLVIA3) will be available from 3 April 2013.

The guide is a joint venture between IEMA and the Landscape Institute, and is recognised as a key piece of guidance for environmental impact assessment (EIA) practitioners.

The approach and methodologies in the new edition, GLVIA3, are largely similar to those taken in GLVIA2, which it replaces. One key difference, however, is the third edition’s greater emphasis on professional judgment over a formulaic approach.

In the transition period to the new guidance, practitioners who have already started a landscape and visual impact assessment (LVIA) using GLVIA2 are advised to complete the assessment using those guidelines; those starting after 3 April should use the latest edition.

Where an ongoing LVIA will not be submitted until after the third edition is launched, it is the responsibility of the professionals involved to compare the two guides and determine, with their client, whether any reassessment needs to be undertaken.

Further details will be included in the March issue of the environmentalist.