It’s important for me as it represents a small milestone in that I have been a freelance ecologist for 6 months. My first newsletter describes some of the projects that I completed during this period. It is an important month for developers, planning consultants or indeed anyone involved in the planning process as it marks the beginning of the end (but not the end of the beginning) of the main survey season.
So if you have any building conversions, demolitions or refurbishments, think about getting a bat survey done now. If you don’t, and the local planning authority think you should (and see here if you are thinking of doing this in West Yorkshire), your development may get delayed as time could quickly run out before bats enter hibernation.
And if you’re thinking about future planning applications in summer 2012, the next few months represent a good time to complete high level ecology walkover surveys/ strategic ecology statements. For a modest fee, you get a short report (see extract) describing the habitats, potential for protected species and recommendations for further survey.
So for all of us, September is the first month to think ahead, forward plan and take stock, or stock up during the autumn and winter months in time for the 2012 survey season.
So call me, e-mail me or write to me if you need an ecology survey completing this autumn.
[…] down and hibernate. So just as the planning consultation ends, developers should really start to plan ahead for the 2012 amphibian survey season. And a recent publication by Natural England which […]
[…] And if you’re not planning on building a wind farm? Well, you can still complete high level ecology surveys which inform, enable and identify more specialist surveys that may be seasonally constrained. You can read about the benefits of completing these in autumn and winter in an earlier blog. […]
[…] And two months ago, I wrote that the autumn and winter is a good time to take stock. […]
[…] Just over a century later, this motto could equally apply to the 21st Century developer intending to engage with the planning system. And January and February provide a superb opportunity to ‘be prepared’. Whilst developers are unlikely to need to prepare to die for their country, they could do worse than heed the general meaning invoked by this motto and think ahead, act and commission an ecology survey – something I’ve written about before and also here and here. […]
[…] So may be it would be better to consider biodiversity in general up front, at least as a due diligence exercise. This would be a cost effective option and would also support the Government’s […]
[…] and developers need to be aware of this – see some earlier blogs like this one and this one which explain why. And this might come in useful […]