Planning Better, with early Landscape Input

In many projects, landscape input is still introduced too late in the process—often after key design decisions have already been made or other consultants have begun detailed work. This can lead to missed opportunities, avoidable rework, and challenges at the planning stage.

At Land Centric, we regularly support projects from early feasibility through to planning and post-consent stages. From this experience, it's clear that early landscape involvement brings significant value—not just in shaping layouts and delivering policy-compliant designs, but in supporting coordination across the full consultant team.

Identifying Constraints and Opportunities Early

Early input from landscape professionals can help identify key constraints that may otherwise be overlooked, such as:

• Local and national landscape planning policies;

• Designated landscape features or sensitive views;

• Existing vegetation, green infrastructure, or landscape-led design requirements.

Understanding these factors early allows for more efficient and appropriate layouts, reducing the likelihood of needing to revise proposals later in response to officer comments, consultee feedback or community engagement.

Supporting Consultant Coordination

The landscape plan often becomes a central drawing that pulls together evolving inputs from the wider project team. As schemes progress, we regularly update our plans to reflect:

• Drainage strategies and SuDS proposals;

• Arboricultural constraints and tree retention plans;

• Highways access, vehicle tracking and swept path analysis;

• Ecology or biodiversity enhancements and mitigation.

By keeping landscape plans aligned with the latest consultant information, the design remains coherent and responsive to technical requirements, avoiding conflicting proposals and improving the quality of submissions.

A More Integrated Process

Projects run more smoothly when consultants are working from a shared spatial understanding. Early landscape involvement helps foster this, bringing together inputs across architecture, engineering, ecology and planning into a cohesive, context-led design.

It also enables better engagement with planning policy and guidance from the outset, helping to demonstrate a well considered approach when it matters most, at pre-application or submission stage.

If you’re starting a new project and want to ensure early coordination and planning confidence, we’d be happy to support from the outset.