Ian Houlston

Ian is a Fellow of the Landscape Institute and Member of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists.

He is a Design Council Expert, Design Review Panel Member for Design:Midlands and he volunteers on policy matters for the Landscape Institute and sits on its Biodiversity Working Group.

Ian started his career at Historic England and subsequently worked for an international multi-disciplinary consultancy prior to joining LDA Design where he has a business-wide role leading the Environmental Planning Service and advising on landscape matters for large scale developments including transport infrastructure, green energy generation and new communities.

He has a background in strategic landscape assessment and in the preparation of landscape strategies and masterplans for new development in rural and urban situations, including in sensitive historic and protected landscapes. He specialises in reading and interpreting the landscape to inform placemaking and guide decisions on where and how change should be directed and delivered. He has written and contributed to national landscape guidance and advocacy documents including for the Landscape Institute and Natural England. He is regularly asked to speak at conferences and events, has led a national training programme for Natural England and lectures annually at the University of Sheffield and the University Oxford.