Through our ecology services, we identify any ecological constraints to developing a site and help our clients get planning permission. We have a thorough knowledge of the legislation around nature conservation and development as well as a good working relationships with the national nature conservation agencies. Not only does this mean we can have productive discussions that lead to development decisions that work for the developer, the planning authorities, and the natural environment, but we can also do it in quicker time frames.

We can provide a range of ecology services to help support your development in order to improve the ecological sustainability of your site. Our surveys include:

• Preliminary ecological appraisals (previously Phase 1 Habitat Survey)
• Ecological scoping and impact assessments (EcIA)
• Protected species and river corridor surveys
• Bat Surveys, Newt Surveys, Vegetation Surveys, and more

• National Vegetation Classification surveys
• Arboricultural impact assessments (AIA)
• Tree surveys and constraints plans
• Support SuDS Designs and Flood Risk Assessments

If you’re developing a site or changing land use, you’ll need a preliminary ecological appraisal (PEA). Formerly known as an Extended Phase 1 Habitat Survey, the PEA is the most common type of habitat survey for planning applications. It’s also useful if you’re buying a site, as it identifies any potential constraints to the development of that site.

The preliminary ecological appraisal is a first-stage ecological assessment that:

• Classifies all the different habitats found on the site
• Indicates which species and habitats are at the site, as well as species which may visit at other times of the year
• Assesses the implications the proposed development could have on those habitats
• Proposes practical measures that will preserve important habitats and encourage biodiversity
• Identifies any nature conservation or planning policy issues, and whether you need further surveys and ecological impact assessments

A PEA is done in 3 stages; a desk study to identify past sighting and reports of recorded species, a site survey to map habitats and signs of protected species and vegetation, and then the report with mitigation measures and notification of any further surveys or investigations that are necessary (such as protected species surveys).

You should conduct a PEA as early as possible in the planning process to identify any ecological constraints to the site. Although the PEA can be done at any time of year, if it identifies habitats for protected species on your site then you’ll need to conduct additional habitat surveys for these species. This can delay planning, since surveys for some protected species can only be done at certain times of year.

An ecology survey can be a multiple stage process. It’s difficult to give a definitive price as every site will require different levels of analysis. Below are the things that will effect the cost of your ecological survey.

The first stage when assessing the ecology of a site is the PEA. In effect, this is used as a screening exercise.

Should species of importance (such as protected species or breeding birds) be identified or there is evidence found indicating they could be present then further investigation with additional surveys will be required. These surveys are individual to each protected species or breeding birds, as detailed above. They’ll therefore come with their own individual costing.

When working with us, our fees will set out the cost of a PEA first. If species are to be identified, subsequent fee proposals will be provided. The fees will vary dependent on the species identified, the distance we will have to travel for a site visit, and the time it will take to analyse each aspect of the surveys.

To get a quote or to discuss what you need, contact Daniel Cook

Call Dan on 0203 857 8540  Or email the team at [email protected]