Allen Pyke prepared the Townscape and Visual Impact Assessment (TVIA) for a seven-storey residential building in the heart of Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire.

The scheme was refused on the grounds that its scale and massing would harm the character and appearance of the area, a matter contested at Appeal.

Our Director, Catherine Ritson, acted as Expert Witness on Townscape and Visual matters to address this. We collaborated with Faulhaber Designs to develop verified Accurate Visual Representations to demonstrate the effects on locally valued views across the changing city skylines, including views from the nearby and distant Conservation Areas. The presentation of these, alongside the Inspector’s site visit, led him to accept that the scheme proposals would be appropriate to the changing urban setting.

This adds another successful Appeal Decision to our portfolio since Catherine has taken over the role of Expert Witness after David Allen’s retirement in late 2020. We continue to mentor and train our staff team to expand our team of Expert Witnesses for our clients and to lead as specialists in the field of Landscape, Townscape and Visual Assessment.