Protected Species Licensing: Expert Mitigation & Legal Compliance
Managing complex Natural England and NatureScot mitigation licence applications to identify species constraints and ensure robust environmental legislative compliance nationwide.
E3 Ecology.
When is protected species licensing required?
Mitigation licences for European Protected Species such as bats and great crested newts should be applied for where a proposed development has the potential to result in an offence being committed.
This includes, but is not limited to, destruction or modification of a bat roost, potential harm to great crested newts through site clearance and construction works, or damage or disturbance to an otter holt or badger sett (though the latter is not technically a “European Protected Species”, but still requires a licence). In some cases, a Low Impact Licence may be appropriate – we can advise on this on a case by case basis, with a consultant registered for Low Impact Class Licences for bats within the E3 team.
Licences may also be required for works affecting other protected species, including otter, badger and water vole.
What should you expect to happen?
The process below explains how licences are obtained and what is involved to ensure compliance with UK wildlife legislation.
Licence Applications
Your project ecologist will advise you if a licence will be required as soon as possible following survey work. Licences can only be applied for once relevant permissions (such as planning permission) has been granted. A licence application can then be prepared and submitted to the relevant Statutory Nature Conservation Organisation (Natural England, NatureScot or Natural Resources Wales).
We can prepare much of the licence application based on the survey work completed, but your input will be required into agreeing a timetable of works and mitigation strategy. Different licences have different assessment timescales when received by the Statutory Nature Conservation Organisation (SNCO), usually between 10 and 30 working days, though this can be exceeded.
Works on Site
Once a licence is granted, we can provide a range of induction and supervision works on site to ensure that licensable work is completed in line with the approved licence method statement. For bats, this may include provision of a site induction to contractors and supervision of works.
For great crested newts, a translocation scheme may be required, including the trapping out of amphibians using specially designed fencing and pitfall traps, in order to move newts into a receptor site that will not be affected by the works.
Monitoring
Dependent on the scheme, monitoring surveys may be required following completion of works and, in all cases, a report of action will be made to the relevant SNCO, detailing the outcomes of licensable work.
How Can E3 Ecology Help?
The E3 team have considerable experience of successfully applying for protected species licences and delivering licensable works. This includes a large number of bat and great crested newt licences, as well as for other protected species. Our registered consultants for Low Impact Class Licences can advise in cases where the use of these licences will be appropriate, in order to provide you with the best service possible.
If you think you require or have been asked to obtain a licence for a protected species, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and we will be happy to help.