A Landscape-Led Multidisciplinary Residential Plan for the London Green Belt

Abstract

Landscape architects have a responsibility to society, the environment, the client, and other professional organizations. Professionals that undertake landscape-led planning projects need to adopt a comprehensive approach in all the associated aspects. This article summarizes a unique experience in landscape-led planning practice in the UK where most projects are either town planning or architect-led: (1) the housing scarcity problem in towns and villages, land within the Green Belt in the UK is in strict governance by planning policies. In this article, a case study of exceptional infilling villages in East Hertfordshire is used to drive a landscape-led, multi-disciplinary planning process and to analyze all expertise assignments involved; (2) materials were sought from a variety of sources including council official online guidance, public open access materials, project team communication, and consultation results which covered local residents engagement and anonymous comments during the publicity period of the planning decision. Desktop studies, site visits, and the expertise of the multi-disciplinary team were applied throughout the case; (3) with a year of planning teamwork, the proposed development of the study site met the local sustainable growth that planning permission for high-quality residential dwellings was granted by the Local Planning Authority; (4) since known landscape-led planning examples are limited in the UK, the case study formed a good example for scholars and researchers who are interested in planning in the Green Belt.