Ecology, BNG and Protected Species – Page 3
Ecology surveys, biodiversity net gain, protected species licences and survey seasons.
Ecology, BNG and Protected Species articles – page 3
151 articlesHow long a preliminary ecological appraisal stays valid
Habitat data outlives species data, and site changes reset the clock regardless of date. How to programme ecology surveys against a long permission.
Watercourse units and how the metric treats a ditch
A dry field ditch is a watercourse for metric purposes, and its units cannot be made up with grassland elsewhere. What that means for a small site.
Off-site biodiversity gain: section 106 or conservation covenant
Off-site habitat can be secured by a planning obligation or by a conservation covenant under the Environment Act 2021. Ownership, geography and unit sales decide which.
Habitat monitoring reports across the 30-year period
The biodiversity gain condition requires habitat to be maintained for at least 30 years. Monitoring is how that is verified, and most draft management plans leave the who, when and what remedy unanswered.
When a council must carry out an appropriate assessment
The duty to carry out an appropriate assessment under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 falls on the competent authority. Applicant ecology work feeds it and cannot replace it.
Nutrient neutrality: a nitrogen budget for one dwelling
One house in an affected catchment needs the same appropriate assessment as a hundred. This works through an illustrative nitrogen budget, the inputs that change it and how a small applicant secures mitigation.
White-clawed crayfish and biosecurity on site
Handling native crayfish needs a licence, and trapping needs a second one. The biosecurity obligations that follow are usually harder than the survey itself.
Japanese knotweed and the Schedule 9 offence
Section 14(2) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 bites on spreading knotweed, not on having it. This covers mapping, treatment options, waste duty of care, guarantees and the conditions councils impose.
Otter surveys and the riparian buffer councils expect
Otters are a European protected species, so the survey and any licence sit with a licensed ecologist. The buffer width you get depends on how you justify its function.
Barn owls in agricultural building conversions
Schedule 1 protection adds a disturbance offence that can be committed recklessly. Timing, a designed replacement roost and a lighting scheme are the answers.
Nesting bird checks before vegetation clearance
There is no development exemption for destroying an active nest. The pre-clearance check, and its written record, is what stands between clearance and an offence.
Bat emergence survey effort and roost suitability
The suitability category assigned at the preliminary roost assessment decides how many emergence visits follow, and therefore your programme for the whole season.
Significance of effects in an ecological impact assessment
Significance is a geographic judgement, not a score. How value, impact and effect fit together, and the errors reviewers find most often in the residual table.
Reptile surveys: refugia, visits and the temperature window
Reptile surveys depend on refugia, repeated visits and weather you cannot book. What makes a survey defensible, and what the results mean for the programme.
Spatial risk multipliers in the biodiversity metric
Off-site biodiversity units are discounted by where the gain site sits relative to the development. The test uses local planning authority and National Character Area boundaries.
Biodiversity net gain exemptions and how to claim them
De minimis, householder, self-build and gain site development are exempt from mandatory biodiversity net gain. Each test is narrow, and the claim is checked at validation.
The biodiversity duty and how councils must apply it
Section 40 of the NERC Act 2006, strengthened by the Environment Act 2021, requires councils to consider what they can do for biodiversity and then act. Here is how that works in practice.
Invasive species on site and the duties that follow
Finding Japanese knotweed does not stop a scheme, but it does create duties over spread, soil handling and site management. Here is what the law requires and what a council will condition.
Local Nature Recovery Strategies and strategic significance
Local Nature Recovery Strategies are not development plan documents, yet they change biodiversity unit arithmetic directly through the metric's strategic significance multiplier.
Nutrient neutrality: what a catchment designation requires
Nutrient neutrality comes from the Habitats Regulations, not from planning policy. In a designated catchment the authority cannot grant permission until it is satisfied there is no adverse effect on the protected site.
Hazel dormouse surveys: nest tubes, effort and indices
A dormouse survey is complete when the accumulated index of probability reaches the published threshold, not when the tubes come down. The high-scoring months sit late in the season.
Bat class licence or individual licence: which route applies
The roost decides the licence route, not the programme. Small day roosts of common species can go through the class licence; maternity roosts and hibernacula cannot.
How many bat emergence surveys a building needs
A preliminary roost assessment sets the number of bat emergence surveys, not the size of the building. Miss the May to September window and the programme slips by eight months.
The 30 year habitat management and monitoring plan
The biodiversity gain condition requires gains to last 30 years. The management and monitoring plan is how a council satisfies itself they will, and vague prescriptions are the commonest reason it is refused.
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