We’re calling on the Scottish Government to put landscape at the heart of development through procurement reform, investment in skills, and a framework for landscape-scale planning and governance
The Landscape Institute (LI) and the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) have launched a joint manifesto calling on the next Scottish Government to place landscape at the centre of how land is planned, designed and managed.
Scotland faces urgent and interconnected challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, economic pressures, health inequalities, food security and infrastructure demand. Its landscapes are a national asset and a landscape-led approach to planning, design, construction and long-term management is central to delivering national climate, biodiversity, health and development commitments.
Through our joint manifesto, we call on the next Scottish Government to:
- Deliver landscape-led development and improve public procurement
Place landscape at the heart of planning and public investment, and overhaul procurement systems to prioritise quality, integration and whole-life value. - Invest in landscape skills, capacity and education
Provide sustained investment in landscape skills and training by providing stable funding for land-based colleges, expanding landscape and construction apprenticeships, and enhancing and protecting school grounds. - Introduce integrated landscape-scale planning and governance
Establish a coordinated national framework for landscape-scale land and natural resource management, embedding the principles of Scotland’s Landscape Charter across policy and delivery.
Access to well-designed and well-managed landscape delivers measurable public health benefits. Greater access to green space is associated with higher life expectancy1, reduced stress and lower incidence of conditions such as type two diabetes2. Quality outdoor environments support physical activity and social interaction, encouraging healthier behaviours3 across both urban and rural settings. Delivering these outcomes depends on landscape being properly planned, designed and maintained over the long term.
The landscape sector contributes £1.6bn to Scotland’s GDP and supports 36,700 jobs.4 Landscape planning, design, construction and management underpin delivery across housing, transport, education, health, energy and environmental policy.
The British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) and the Landscape Institute represent the landscape profession and wider landscape industry across strategy, masterplanning, site design, construction and management. Landscape architects work across scales, from individual sites and neighbourhoods to city, regional and national strategies, shaping environmental systems as well as spatial environments.
We have produced this manifesto to set out areas where government action can unlock the full potential of landscape in delivering national commitments.
Banner image caption: Union Terrace Gardens, Aberdeen
Credit: Christopher Swan Photography for LDA Design
