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Due to essential maintenance, the following systems will be unavailable from 6.00pm on Monday 2 October until 8.00am on Tuesday 3 October: our online council tax, business rates and housing benefit services, and our welfare assistance form. You will also not be able to register to pay council tax online, make a change of address for council tax or cancel single person discount. You are still able to make a payment during this time. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Landscape character, strategies and guidelines


Variations in geology and soils, landform, land use, vegetation, field boundaries, settlement patterns and building styles, produce different landscapes each with its own distinctive character and unique sense of place.

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.

Contact us
Landscape and Arboriculture
03000 267 139
Our address is:
  • Heritage, Landscape and Design
  • Planning Service
  • County Hall
  • Durham
  • County Durham
  • United Kingdom
  • DL1 5UQ