Natural England and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) have updated the guidance for how to assess a planning application when there are protected species on or near a proposed development site.
This update includes the following changes:
-
In the section on how the species are protected, the list of offences has been updated to match the relevant legislation.
-
In ‘Planning and licence conditions’, new wording has been included about planning conditions, including the discharge of conditions and issuing of licences.
-
Table 1. Likely habitat for protected species – lists of habitat types and species have been updated.
-
Table 2. Survey timetable – updated to include species and timings not previously included.
-
In the section ‘discuss survey requirements with developers’, added new information outlining Natural England’s offer to developers regarding surveys.
Source: Natural England, Defra.