Surveys and mitigation strategies

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Developers are strongly advised to consider ecological matters at the very early stages of the project. This will provide the opportunity to try to design out negative impacts and hence avoid delays in the planning process. If possible, any impacts upon protected species of wildlife should be avoided, because the production of mitigation strategies and applying for development licences from Natural England will be the most costly aspect of the ecological assessment.

The statutory authorities now require all necessary ecological surveys to be complete before they will grant planning permission. If surveys show that protected species are present then a mitigation scheme will also need to be submitted before planning permission can be granted. The implementation of this will be a condition of the planning permission. However, some surveys can only be undertaken at specific times of the year. The seasonality of ecological surveys can result in significant delays to your project, unless you have built them into your programme.

Planning authority requirements

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All public bodies, including planning authorities have a duty to both conserve and enhance biodiversity under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006. This means that they will require developers to build ecological enhancements into their proposals, as well as conserving what is already present. The local plan may also specify policies on biodiversity that the planning authority will expect developers to comply with when submitting proposals.
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Protected Species Development licences

 

Development licences for species protected under European legislation eg bats, dormice, great crested newts etc, can only be obtained once planning permission has been granted. Both the local authority, when determining the planning application and Natural England, when determining the licence application, have to apply strict legal tests before they can be granted. The local authority cannot issue a planning condition stating that a licence must be obtained from Natural England. Licences can take up to 40 days to issue and rely upon the mitigation strategy that was submitted to support the planning application. Monitoring will be required to determine the success of the mitigation.
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Sites Designated for Nature Conservation

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In some cases the ecological appraisal may demonstrate that the development could impact upon a designated site or Biodiversity Action Plan habitat. There are a wide variety of sites designated for nature conservation purposes in the UK, ranging from internationally and nationally designated sites protected by law to local sites that receive policy protection.

In these circumstances, the statutory authorities are likely to require additional survey work and/or mitigation. The additional work required is dependent on the value of the site and the degree of impact from development. Mitigation could range from avoidance and protection during construction to habitat restoration and enhancement. Please note that any development with residual impacts on a National Site Network site (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area or Ramsar site) or national site (Site of Special Scientific Interest or National Nature Reserve) is highly unlikely to be granted permission.