Prelimiary Ecological Appraisal Phase 1 Habitat survey

Habitat Assessment Surveys

A habitat survey is the place to start to assess the ecological value of your site – and it’s required for most planning applications. Working with us on this at an early stage of your project can save costly and lengthy delays later on.

We describe the main types of habitat survey here – but they can have many different names. If you’ve been asked for something different as part of your planning permission process, or are not sure, please ask us.

You can call us any time for a conversation on 07968 672634 – or drop us a line here.

PHASE 1 HABITAT SURVEY

A Phase 1 Habitat survey is a standard technique for recording habitats and ecological features within a site.

We categorise each habitat based upon the plant species and vegetation structure and produce an easy to understand, colour-coded map, and a report describing ‘baseline conditions’ within your site.

How it works

  • In most cases we will also carry out an initial survey for signs of or potential for:
    • protected animals including dormice, bats, badgers and reptiles
    • invasive plants such as Japanese knotweed
  • This helps us identify all the likely ecological constraints that will influence your project and determine the need for further specialist surveys such as for dormice, badgers, bats, Hedgerow Assessments or National Vegetation Classification.
  • We usually include Phase 1 habitat survey findings in a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) or an Ecological Impact Assessment (EcIA) depending on the scale of the proposed development. These reports usually also include an assessment of the likely ecological impact or your project as well as recommendations for mitigation.

Our expert ecologists can undertake this whole process and will work closely with you to guide the development of your project and help secure planning permission.

PRELIMINARY ECOLOGICAL APPRAISALS (PEA’s)

The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) have recently produced guidelines for PEA reports setting a new standard for the presentation of the findings of Phase 1 Habitat-type surveys.

How it works

  • PEA reports are used at the initial stages of a project to report the findings of a Phase 1 survey and / or for smaller scale projects where the location, nature and scale of a proposed development limits the significance of any potential ecological impacts.
  • We are are full CIEEM members and will prepare your report to meet their guidelines. Quality assurance is important to us – our reports are internally audited to high professional standards.

ECOLOGICAL IMPACT ASSESSMENTS (ECIA’S)

This type of report is usually used for larger projects and provides a more detailed analysis of potential impacts on ecological features. It usually consolidates the results of several surveys including a Phase 1 Habitat survey / PEA report and follow-on protected species surveys.

All sites are different, so we will undertake the ecological survey work you need and tailor our report to the level you require.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA)

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required for  larger scale developments that meet the criteria set out in the European Union Directives 85/337/EEC and 97/11/EC.

We are experienced in working with large multi-disciplinary teams to deliver EIAs and where required will broaden the scope of Ecological Impact Assessment reports to make them suitable for use in the Ecology Chapter.

AGRI-ENVIRONMENT SURVEYS AND ADVICE

Habitat surveys may also be required when applying for agri-environment grants such as Countryside Stewardship.

We are experienced in successfully completing stewardship applications on behalf of land managers including farmers, Cornwall Wildlife Trust and mineral extraction companies.

No matter what sort of habitat assessment you need, get in touch for friendly advice on:

07968 672634