Landscape and visual impact assessment photo montages

The landscape and visual impact assessment for Staverton to Hampshire Hills will help us to assess the impact of new overhead transmission lines on the local landscape, and the visual amenity on residents and visitors.

The extent of any change and its impact on views can vary according to the values of residents and visitors. In September 2020, we asked the communities of Loongana, Nietta, Erriba and Staverton, and surrounds, to provide feedback on their local landscape values to help with this assessment.

Initial feedback showed a strong connection to the landscape, a familiarity with the landscape setting and appreciation of the changes in the character of the landscape that contribute to the local sense of place. But we also heard that locals found it difficult to imagine what the transmission lines would look like. To help with this, we have prepared geo-spatially accurate photomontages from the prominent and frequented viewpoints identified by residents and visitors as important.

The photomontages aim to illustrate the scale and form of the proposed new assets at the following locations:

• View from Black Bluff
• View from Cruickshanks Lookout
• View from St Valentines Peak
• View from Paddy’s Lower

You will find four images for each location. The first shows the landscape without any assets; the second shows overhead transmission lines in the landscape immediately after construction, when the galvanised steel is most shiny and the cleared easement void of regrowth. The third image shows these assets circles to identify better where they are located. And the fourth shows the overhead transmission lines in the landscape 2 to 5 years post construction, when the towers have weathered and some vegetation has grown back in the easement.