ABSTRACT
Development control and environmental management legislation is a very large and complex subject, aspects of which have been and will continue to be covered in a great many authoritative texts. Environmental Impact Assessment has been a requirement for certain types of development since 1985. The aim of Environmental Impact Assessment is to ensure that planning authorities fully understand the likely effects on the environment of the proposed development. The professional practitioner should bear in mind that landscape and visual impact assessment, while comprising part of Environmental Impact Assessment, is frequently carried out informally ‘as a contribution to the appraisal of development proposals and planning applications’. In deciding whether it is expedient to serve a Tree Preservation Order the local planning authority should make an objective assessment of the individual tree, group of trees or area of woodland to determine the impact it has upon the local landscape or to the general public.
