Much of the UK's native wildlife receives legal protection at both national and European levels. Aether Ecology have considerable experience in protected species surveys and the legal implications of this legislation. We are able to provide support to deal with all stages of planning applications and development proposals and can from the scoping survey to the conservation, mitigation and licensing.
Protected species are often a constraint to developments and may cause costly delays if they are not factored into a project at an early stage of planning. Most protected species surveys are seasonally constrained and survey and mitigation work should be undertaken at suitable times of the year. Unless a specific survey is required which has previously been recognised, early identification of potential protected species constraints is recommended through a scoping assessment: We currently undertake protected species surveys and mitigation plans for:Planning, Development & Policies
Local Planning Authorities are required to consider protected species when assessing any development proposals or planning applications through statutory policies. The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) originally produced the Planning Policy Guidance (PPG9) in 1994 which was replaced with the Planning Policy Statement 9 (PPS9) in 2005. This policy sets out the requirement for biodiversity and geological conservation through the planning system and needs to be taken into account by regional planning bodies. The UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) is the UK Government's response to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) signed in 1992. The UK BAP describes the UK's biological resources and commits a detailed plan for the protection of these resources through local Biodiversity Action Plans (LBAP). The new UK List of Priority Species and Habitats has been published and the conservation approach for these 1150 species and 65 habitats is being developed by the statutory and non-statutory sectors.
Wildlife Law & Legislation
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and the Conservation (Natural Habitats &c.) Regulations 1994 are the main pieces of UK law and legislation that provides legal protection for some our most rare and vulnerable species.
Protection is also granted through European legislation such as the Bern Convention 1982 (The Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats), and the Habitats Directive 1992 (Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora) which are transposed into the above national law respectively. These pieces of leglislation make it a criminal offence to handle, injure, kill, sell or to disturb, destroy or obstruct certain wild animals or their places of shelter.
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