This guide will cover how protected species can impact planning permission, when to seek with an ecology consultancy, and what’s involved to ensure you are not caught out and follow due diligence during the application process.
With any new building development, there will be certain processes to follow to ensure your build can go ahead. Planning permission will need to be acquired, and a vital part of this process is assessing the proposed site for any existence of protected species and habitats.
If you are planning on any sort of significant build, then you will need to apply for planning permission.
This applies to any of the following:
- Constructing a new building
- Making extensive changes to an existing building
- Adding outbuildings on your land
What Make What can ecological surveyors do
An ecology surveyor will be able to conduct desk and field surveys to identify the existence of, or potential presence of, a protected species or habitat. Their findings can be presented in a report which will cover:
- Whether or not the project will threaten a habitat
- Reports of any findings during the initial scoping survey
- Any data discovered during the preliminary ecological appraisal
- A report on how any building work may affect habitats (ecological impact assessment)
- Any mitigation strategies should evidence of species or habitat are found
A detailed ecological report will be written at the end of the process, to provide to planning authorities once all surveys have been completed.
