ADVICE

Developers tips - Avoid Nasty Shocks with Ecology

Fifteen great crested newts added £315,000 to the cost of a road widening-widening project in North Wales and five slowworms caused a six-month delay on a house-building project after Natural England - the agency that advises the Government on nature conservation “ stepped in to stop work on site. Telegraph Property, May 12th, 2007.

Don't be caught out “ under PPS9 (Planning Policy Statement 9) local planning authorities are required to take into account potential impacts on protected species and sites when considering individual planning consents. Your development site may be a derelict Brownfield site or a single building and perhaps located in a city or town, but you may still be asked by the local planning authority for an ecology survey even at a very late stage in the planning process.

The following tips would enable a site developer to minimise the risk of unexpected delays and costs in their development:

  1. Before purchasing a site, find out what ecological liabilities and constraints there may be for development on your site by having an ecologist do a thorough Ecological Risk Assessment and produce a report.
  2. Avoid having to substantially redesign your development by considering any likely ecological mitigation requirements early on in your site design.
  3. Do not simply hope the local planning authority will not bring up ecology as an issue – they often do so at the last minute, resulting in the application having to be pulled and re-submitted at a later date (also please note: having planning consent does not circumvent wildlife legislation).
  4. Do the ecology surveys as soon as possible - certain ecology issues require surveys to be carried out at specific times of year or the findings will not be considered valid by Natural England or the local planning authority.

Click the image to view the Protected Species Optimal Survey, Timings and Mitigation Calendar

In summary, get the ecological consultancy in early  initial Ecology Risk Assessments and other initial assessments for protected species can usually be done even in winter, and are often the only ecology assessment required.
Water Voles received increased protection

It will now be against the law to intentionally kill a water vole or to intentionally, or recklessly, damage or disturb the places they use for shelter or protection, meaning that their future is a safer one.

Threatened by habitat loss and predation by American mink, the water vole is the UK's fastest declining native mammal. In 1990 there were seven million water voles in the UK. By 1998 numbers had crashed to less than a million and they have since continued to fall. Previous legal protection for water voles, introduced in 1998, extended only to the animal's habitat, not to the animal itself. This has proved a source of confusion, resulting in the loss of important water vole colonies.

The full protection will come into force on 6 April 2008 under section 9(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

Special Points of Interest

• Carry out any surveys required as early in the planning process as possible to save time and delays and money.

• November to April Season is badger surveys

• March to June is Great Crested Newt survey season and scoping assessments can be all year round.

• Bat activity Survey season May to September/October.
• Bat hibernation and general scoping assessments is November to March/April

Don't forget Phase 1 Habitat Surveys can be all year round.

 



 
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