Get advice on landscape and countryside management
The Swindon Borough Council Landscape and Countryside Service provide advice and guidance on all aspects of landscape, arboriculture and countryside management.
The service is split into three main areas:
- Landscape
- Community Forest
- Arboriculture
Supporting countryside initiatives
In its support of a number of countryside initiatives, the Council is also represented on a number of bodies and where appropriate provides grant aid to those bodies as follows:
- Wilts and Berks Canal Partnership
- Wiltshire and Swindon Biological Records
- British Trust for Conservation Volunteers
- Great Western Community Forest
For further information, please call 07769 281784.
Advice for development control planners
Landscape Architects from the Landscape and Countryside Service comment on any planning application in which there is a significant landscape impact, offering technical advice to our Planning Officers and negotiating with Developers to ensure the highest possible standard of landscape design throughout the borough. As the planning application progresses, the landscape architects assist in negotiating payments under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act.
Known as 'Section 106 Agreements', these agreements are invaluable in securing funding from Developers to finance play areas and additional landscape works.
Planning enquiries
Landscape Architects often represent Swindon Borough Council when they appear as expert witnesses at planning enquiries when a developer has appealed against the refusal of planning permission.
Great Western Community Forest (GWCF)
For details about this project and it's wider partners, see the GWCF webpage.
Great crested newts
If your site is affected by great crested newts, the council is part of Natural England’s district level licensing scheme, which has been introduced to make applying for a great crested newts mitigation licence much easier. For further information, see the Great crested newt mitigation licence webpage.