3D imaging of a quarry undertaken by the BGS using the latest technology to visualise the impact of a quarry on the landscape through time.

• Restricting the location of fixed plant, buildings, stockpiles, waste tips and machinery to minimise the risk of visual impacts from intrusion or obstruction.
• Concentrating elements likely to cause visual impacts into a limited area to reduce the likelihood of these elements being visible and reduce the significance of the impact where visibility does occur.
• Designing and locating processing plant to reduce visibility. For example, by colouring or cladding the structure to camouflage it against the background landscapes.
• Limiting the duration of exposure to visual impacts and the number of people affected by careful scheduling of extraction and orientation of the operation. For example, working towards visual receptors to minimise the visibility of the working quarry face at hard rock operations.
• Conserving natural features such as ridges that enhance screening of the operation rather than breaking through them and having to replace them with man-made screening alternatives.
• Retaining, wherever possible, existing features, including woodlands, vegetation, stonewalling, hedges and ridgelines so that there is an adequate buffer zone between these features and the site.
• Using screening embankments planted with vegetation or trees to conceal the operation. However, care must be taken that this does not obstruct an open view of the landscape beyond the site or draw attention to the site by signalling its presence with clearly unnatural embankments.
• Inventive landscaping of waste tips in perimeter areas can help integrate the screening and concealment measures with the surrounding landscape.

• Scheduling work in sensitive locations for times when tree leaf density is at it greatest if deciduous trees are a significant screening measure.
• Limiting the height of built structures, stockpiles and waste tips and ensuring that they do not protrude above the skyline.
• Curving access roads into the site to prevent a direct line of sight into the operation.
• Minimising upward and lateral light spill and employing timing systems to reduce the duration of any effects.
• Using progressive restoration to minimise the area disturbed at any one time. Restoration design represents an opportunity to conserve or enhance local landscape character and reintegrate the site with the surrounding area. The restoration design does not have to replicate the prior appearance of the site, and new features like lakes, woodland or hills may be introduced. However, the design should fit the local surrounding landscape, with appropriate landform, gradients, water areas, soil profiles, vegetation patterns and species mixes.
• Blasting closed angular quarry faces to give them a more natural profile and appearance.
• Keeping the internal site environment clean and tidy, especially where visible from outside the site.
• Using perimeter viewing platforms and interpretation boards to inform local people about the operation.

Advanced tree planting and well-designed access road screen this quarry well, reducing its visual impact.