Services

Survey and baseline

The baseline is the document every later argument rests on. If it is thin, the local authority ecologist will say so, and the cost of fixing it is measured in months rather than pounds.

What this covers

• Preliminary ecological appraisal (PEA) — desk study, biological records search, statutory and non-statutory designated site review, site walkover, UK Habitat Classification mapping, and a clear set of survey recommendations with the windows they fall in.
• UKHab habitat survey and condition assessment — the baseline that feeds the statutory biodiversity metric. Condition is assessed against the published criteria, in the growing season, with the evidence recorded.
• Protected species surveys — bats (roost assessment, emergence and re-entry, activity transects, static monitoring, hibernation), great crested newt (eDNA and presence/absence), reptiles, badger, hazel dormouse, breeding and wintering birds, water vole and otter.
• Botanical and NVC survey — priority habitat confirmation, grassland quality assessment, and assessment against the Hedgerows Regulations.
• Arboricultural survey to BS 5837 — delivered through a named, insured arboricultural consultant and scoped alongside the bat work where trees have roost potential.

See which windows are open now

Protected species and licensing

Where a scheme will affect a European Protected Species, the offence is committed on the day the machine moves, not on the day permission is granted. Licensing is the step most often left too late.

What this covers

• Impact assessment and mitigation design for bats, great crested newt, badger, dormouse, otter, reptiles and nesting birds — designed to be buildable, not just defensible.
• European Protected Species (EPS) mitigation licence applications to Natural England or Natural Resources Wales, including method statements, reasoned statements and the three-test justification.
• District level licensing for great crested newt, where it is available and faster than the survey-and-bespoke-licence route.
• Badger sett closure and disturbance licences, including the separate closed-season constraint that sits on top of the survey window.
• Low-impact class licences where the roost and the works qualify.

Biodiversity net gain

Net gain is an arithmetic problem attached to an ecological judgement. Most of the value is created before the metric is opened — in how the baseline is surveyed, how habitat parcels are drawn, and how the scheme layout is nudged while it is still cheap to move.

What this covers

• Baseline statutory metric calculation from a growing-season UKHab survey and condition assessment.
• Post-development and post-intervention calculations, run against successive layout iterations so the design team can see the cost of each option.
• Exemption and applicability advice — including the 0.2 hectare and temporary-permission exemptions in force since 6 August 2026, and the priority-habitat condition that disapplies them.
• On-site versus off-site strategy, including the amended gain hierarchy, off-site unit sourcing and statutory credits as a backstop.
• Biodiversity gain plans for discharge of the pre-commencement condition.
• 30-year habitat management and monitoring plans, written to be deliverable by whoever will actually hold the land.

Mandatory biodiversity net gain applies in England. Welsh schemes are assessed against Planning Policy Wales and the s.6 biodiversity duty, which we handle separately — ask us which regime applies to your site.

Assessment and planning support

• Ecological impact assessment (EcIA) to CIEEM guidelines, as a standalone report or as the ecology chapter of an Environmental Statement.
• Habitats Regulations Assessment — screening, shadow appropriate assessment, and nutrient or recreational-pressure work where a designated site is in play.
• Consultee liaison with the local authority ecologist, Natural England or NRW, and the local environmental records centre.
• Planning condition discharge, including the biodiversity gain plan and pre-commencement ecology conditions.
• Appeals and inquiries — proofs of evidence, rebuttals, statements of common ground and expert witness attendance.
• Independent review for local planning authorities — scrutiny of submitted ecological information against policy and guidance, with a clear recommendation.

Construction and aftercare

• Ecological Clerk of Works (ECoW) — supervision of vegetation clearance, sensitive demolition, watching briefs and licence-condition compliance.
• Pre-commencement checks — nesting bird checks, pre-works reptile and amphibian sweeps, and updated roost checks where survey data has aged.
• Toolbox talks for site teams, in language that survives a wet Monday morning.
• Habitat creation supervision — seed mix specification, planting supervision, and sign-off against the management plan.
• Condition monitoring against the 30-year plan, with the metric re-run where the monitoring shows drift.