About us

Driven by a desire to work closely with our clients whilst doing away with unnecessary management time we run lean and work efficiently, employing a small cohort with assistance from a network of trusted associates and seasonal surveyors. This approach allows us to be as competitive as possible whilst giving our full attention to a smaller number of projects.

Co-ecology has been founded by Giles Coe an ecologist who has worked at all levels of the consultancy industry, working up from a dedicated field worker in 2001 to earn a place on the board at one of the UK’s largest independent ecology consultancy’s in 2014. Giles commercial expertise having be honed through a subsequent seven years of high level commercial development including the opening and successful expansion of four regional offices including his own department in Sussex.

Giles has been joined by a team of five ecologists all working at a senior level and all with a minium of 7-10 years commercial and conservation led experience. Bringing with them knowledge gained in working in both the public realm and conservation organisations across a wide variety of species and habitat types.

Concept

We specialise in designing practical and attainable measures that benefit nature conservation, streamlining the integration of ecological considerations into the design at an early stage of your project, subsequently paying dividends in efficiency and ensuring alignment with National and local planning policies.

Co-operation

Working together in partnership with clients, their design teams, contractors, statutory bodies, local authorities and conservation groups we aim to achieve the best outcomes for your project and for biodiversity.

Constraints

Identified at the timeliest phase possible by our most practiced ecologists who can navigate a course through even the most complex and intricate of situations. We will identify the simplest and most cost effective route for you to obtain planning permission and where impacts to protected species or sites may occur, consent from the regulators for construction activities to commence.

Our team hold all the necessary consents and licences to allow us to disturb legally protected species, this includes acting as consultants under Natural England’s earned recognition schemes. Our consultants are able to register your site with Natural England using our registration under Class Licences for Bats and Badgers resulting in fast turn times under 10 days.

Construction

Our focus is facilitating our clients end goals and ensuring that everything runs smoothly from design through to the facilitation of ground works and other pre-construction activities. During the build our ecologists provide a reactive service to deal with any ecology issues arising from changes to final design and can help ensure compliance with licensing, planning conditions and of course the minefield of legislation.

Compliance

All of our advice and practical support is in compliance with industry standards including the British Standard for Biodiversity (BS42020) and the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Managements (CIEEM) standards and the code of professional conduct. Decades of practical involvement in a very wide scope of consenting regimes provide our ecologists with the in-depth understanding required to ensure compliance with Development Consent Order, Transport and General Works act, Harbour Empowerment Order, Local Development Order, Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project, Outline and Full Planning, Householder and Listed Building Consent.

Conservation

At the heart of our work lays the objective of integrating measures for wildlife conservation into development following a sustainable and practicable approach – conservation measures that are effective in practise, not just there to tick boxes. We believe that integrating conservation into development isn’t just a desirable outcome but due to climate change and the biodiversity crisis it is essential.

Consultancy

Our services extend past the standard offerings to cover all aspects of ecological consultancy with additional focus on the more complex of projects that may require a Habitat Regulations Assessment or those with a pre-existing and complex planning history. Our ecologists have successful track records of providing statements and appearing as expert witness at Public Inquiry, Planning Inspectorate and Planning Committee Meetings. We also provide project management services for other consultancies taking on projects of any scope and at any stage of their life cycle. Quality submissions for tenders are written to a very high standard in collaboration with your technical and administrative team.

Commercial

After decades of responsibly managing multi-million pound company and project budgets we have developed a robust understanding and insight into our own and our clients commercial operations and imperative. We provide budgets and proposals that may be required under different contract types (BoQ, NEC4 etc) and are adept at monitoring those contracts for ours and our clients benefit.

Commitment

We will always approach our work and your project with the utmost professionalism and focus on successful outcomes. As consultants it is our driving responsibility to provide you with the highest possible standard of advice in the timeliest manner achievable.