Licensing and Consents
Approach
At Co-ecology our ecologists have a demonstrable and long track record in obtaining and implementing all consent types in a timely and efficient manner and are able to act as named ecologist on all licence applications. The licensing system can be a maze to navigate and we will work with you and your design team to devise the mitigation solution that will achieve the primary objectives of obtaining consent via the most practicable route. Wherever it is possible we would register your scheme under one of the Class Licence Schemes which we are Registered Consultants on. This allows us to obtain consent within a very short time frame, often less than six working days.
Whichever route is taken the application process follows the same path of – data collection (survey), assessment of impact, design of mitigation solution, preparation and submission of licence and then assessment by Natural England followed by consent being issued.
What is involved
Any activity that disturbs a species that is protected by legislation must be covered by the appropriate licence issued by Natural England. Licensing can be thought of to be issued for two primary activities, either disturbance caused by surveying or disturbance from construction or other such endeavour.
Surveying licences are issued to ecologists who have received sufficient training and experience in a particular species to be able to carry out a variety of surveying methodologies without causing significant disturbance. Our ecologists and associates hold all of the necessary class licences to survey all commonly encountered species that require consent to disturb including bats, dormice and great crested newts.
Derogation licences for development activities are largely covered by the standard EPSM (European Protected Species Mitigation) licence process, although Natural England have been migrating away from this to a more streamlined route based around earned recognition (insert external link). There are some current exceptions to EPSM which are presented below.
Species
Bats – Mitigation Licences for maternity or hibernation sites and roosts of rarer species. The application can take around 5-10 days to prepare including time spent with the client following an iterative design process. Natural England will take between 30-45 working days to assess an application. Each licence requires the development of a practicable mitigation solution such as careful timing and soft demolition with robust compensation measures for any roosts that are lost. Must be underpinned by data no more than two years old.
Bat Mitigation Class Licence (BMCL) – Giles Coe has been a Registered Consultant on this scheme almost since the inception of its predecessor (BLICL) and has registered a small number of sites annually. For sites of lower conservation significance and where only up to two of the following species have been found roosting on the site; Brown long-eared, Common pipistrelle, Daubenton’s, Natterer’s, Soprano pipistrelle, Brandt’s/Whiskered. In some circumstances individual roosts of serotine or Lesser horseshoe bat can also be registered on the scheme. A site registration must be underpinned by data collected within the previous 12 months and a site visit within 3 months of application.
Badgers – Disturbance licences for reasons of either damage or development – can be obtained from natural England following the production and submission of a detailed mitigation plan. There is currently a minimum 30 working day determination period. Must be informed by surveys carried out immediately prior to the application
Badger Class Licence - Our lead badger ecologist is a Registered Consultant on this scheme and can obtain consent for almost all standard activities (other than live digs) that result in disturbance to badgers such as sett closures (up to an including main setts) and artificial creation. We usually receive confirmation of consent from Natural England within five working days.
Dormouse – Mitigation licences can be issued for all development activities. As with other Mitigation licences this can take time to prepare and requires careful consideration of the mitigation solution which may need to be spread into two phases, a winter and then spring clearance if vegetation. The habitats lost must be replaced, this is often a mixture of scrub and tree planting alongside the use of dormouse nesting boxes and habitat connectivity measures.
Great crested newts – Mitigation licences have been the default for many years, there are now some alternatives emerging although the better (more cost effective and practicable) solution can often still be the traditional route. Robust habitat compensation measures are usually required with scope determined from the distance of the development from breeding ponds and the scale of habitat changes. Requires survey data to be now more than two years old in most circumstances.
District Licensing Scheme – The new kid on the block for species licensing. This scheme launched in Surrey a few years ago and has been expanding throughout England as different unitary authorities adopt this approach. Chiefly designed for large housebuilding schemes, developers can sign up and pay a fee to Natural England to come onto the scheme, no site-specific field surveys are required and, in many cases, no on-site mitigation measures are required either. On granting of planning permission the developer pays a premium calculated by the licensing authority
Water Voles – Not a European Protected Species they are more commonly encountered on mainland Europe but as Britain’s fastest declining mammal species any disturbing activities must be consented by Natural England. The licensing route differs slightly from the other species listed above as activities are covered in the main by a Conservation Licence, prepared, applied for and assessed in the same way as Mitigation Licence. Used to consent trapping and translocation programmes.
Water Vole Class Licence for displacement – This personal licence allows consultants to displace water vole populations from short (50m) sections of drainage channel to facilitate the installation of culverts or other drainage or hard landscaping feature.
External Charges
Natural England have been introducing charges for licence applications over the last few years and presently most species and situations are now included although there may not be any charge for your scheme if you are a homeowner and/or only small-scale changes are likely to occur. As part of the application process we will submit a charge screening form for you and Natural England will confirm the cost to you separately.