Ecology

20/04/2017

Ecology is the science of relationships between living organisms and their environment. It is an extremely important part of the planning process for any proposed development site.

Britain supports a diverse and interesting array of wildlife. Many of these species are protected and any proposed development needs to accommodate this within the plans. Ecology studies and surveys need to be carried out at different times of the year dependant on the species. These survey windows are generally short and limited. As many species receive legal protection where a development may impact the environment, survey data must be provided to support a planning application; however they should only be required where there is a reasonable chance of protected species being affected. The first step is to carry out extended phase 1 habitat surveys. This will include desk based studies, site survey and detailed report. This will show the habitats present on any proposed site, which species are or could be present, the potential impacts, the legal/planning issues that need to be addressed and timings for the phase 2 studies.

This is a brief over view of the initial process to ensure the environment is protected in the early stages of any development on sites. Capital Land works with specialist teams in this area to ensure the biodiversity is managed correctly.

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