Landscape character, strategies and guidelines

County Durham Landscape Character Assessment

We have mapped these variations in landscape character in the County Durham Landscape Character Assessment which was formally adopted by the council in 2008. The assessment along with interactive maps, can be viewed online or downloaded from the Durham Landscape website. 

County Durham Landscape Strategy  

The County Durham Landscape Strategy builds on the Character Assessment, analysing the issues affecting the landscape, setting out objectives and establishing priorities for conservation and improvement. It was formally adopted by the council in 2008. The Strategy along with interactive maps, can be viewed on-line or downloaded from the Durham Landscape website.  

County Durham Landscape Guidelines  

The assessment and strategy are accompanied by landscape guidelines on a range of topics.

Further Information

You can get copies of the Landscape Character Assessment, Landscape Strategy and Landscape Guidelines in electronic format (PDF), and associated GIS data (in ESRI format) by contacting our Landscape and Arboriculture team. There maybe a small administration fee for the GIS data. If you want to know more about the process of landscape character assessment and its applications, please visit the Landscape Character Assessment website.