Over the past few years, there has been a greatly increased awareness of our responsibility towards the planet we inhabit and environmental issues associated with our duty of care. As a result of this, there has been a developing awareness of the decline in populations of many species of birds, animals, insects and mammals. This has led to many of these becoming protected species which need to be looked after and supported to ensure their survival.

As a result of regular media coverage, most of us are aware of the dwindling populations of some elephants, tigers, rhinos, pandas and other high profile species. We are, perhaps, less aware of the plight of other less headline grabbing groups, which have also become protected to help allow their very existence to continue. Bats, dormice, newts, water voles and certain birds are among these and the government has introduced legislation to ensure that they are protected as much as possible.

One of the ways we can ensure the survival of endangered species is to protect their habitats. Planning legislation has now been introduced to make sure that these habitats are not disturbed or destroyed by the construction of new property developments. This applies to new housing developments, the building of new commercial, industrial or infrastructure projects or an attic conversion to an existing property.

The most common protected species encountered on development sites include;

• Bats
• Hazel Dormice
• Great crested newts
• Badgers
• Birds (including barn owls & swifts)
• Reptiles (including grass snakes, adders, slow worms and common lizards)

Since protected species and their habitats can be a consideration in planning applications, a specialist survey is likely to be needed if initial surveys suggest that a suitable habitat is present and that protected species are expected to use the site. Bats, for instance, tend to return to the same roost every year, so these must be protected even if the bats are not there at the time of the survey. Local authorities normally expect an appropriate protected species survey to have been undertaken prior to a planning application being submitted. If protected species have been found during such surveys, a developer would be required to show that any development would not be harmful to such species though good design and that any unavoidable impacts are mitigated or reduced.

With the possible exception of bats, any small construction projects being carried out on individual properties, such as a rear or side extension or an attic conversion will be unlikely to involve disturbing the majority of protected species. Bats, however could be an issue, particularly when extensions or attic conversions could disturb any existing bat roosts in your loft space and care should be taken when planning projects of this nature.

There are around 16 species of British bats, all small, harmless mammals which feed solely on insects. During the day, bats use a variety of places, including house roofs and attic spaces for roosting. They do not cause any damage to property and there is no known health risk associated with them in the UK

If you or your contractor find evidence of the possible presence of bats in your property, you should engage a specialist to do a bat survey. The survey will show what type of bat and how many are using your building, so you can plan to avoid harming them. If you cannot avoid harming bats, or their habitats, you can apply for a mitigation licence from Natural England.

Natural England is an executive non-departmental public body, which is sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra). Established by an Act of Parliament in 2006, it is the government’s adviser for the natural environment in England. Its purpose is to help conserve, and manage sustainable development of the country’s natural environment for the benefit of present and future generations, For licensing or planning and development queries, contact Enquiries on 0300 060 3900.

For general information on bats go to https://www.bats.org.uk which is the website of the Bat Conservation Trust, their helpline number is 0345 1300 228.

If you are planning a major development project, this may affect other protected species and may mean putting forward a plan to move or at least disturb other protected species as part of any application for planning permission. Environmental issues are becoming a more important aspect of obtaining planning and most local planning authorities will now want to see that these have been addressed as part of a new development.

The Hazel Dormouse is the UK’s only native dormouse and is found mainly in the southern half of the UK. Numbers have declined dramatically within the population, declining by 50% since 2000. Hazel dormice are a Biodiversity Action Plan priority species, which means that they have been identified as being among the most threatened species and require conservation action under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. They are fully protected by law, and cannot be intentionally killed, injured, or disturbed in their nests. If you cannot avoid harming Hazel Dormice, or their habitats, you can apply for a mitigation licence from Natural England.

Great Crested Newts’ numbers have declined dramatically in Europe and the UK, leading to them becoming a protected species which makes it an offence to kill, injure, capture, disturb them or to damage or destroy their habitat. If you cannot avoid harming Great Crested Newts, or their habitats, you can apply for a mitigation licence from Natural England.

Badgers and their setts are protected by law in the UK, although you may be able to get a licence from Natural England if you can't avoid disturbing badgers in their sett or damaging their sett.

In England, Scotland, and Wales, all wild birds, their eggs, and nests are protected by The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, during the breeding season. As with other protected species you may also be able to get a licence from Natural England if you need to remove wild birds because they’re causing problems.

The Government website; https://www.gov.uk/guidance/countryside-hedgerows-regulation-and-management states, with regard to hedge cutting;

‘You must not do any work which might harm nesting birds or destroy their nests. You’ll usually find nesting birds during the main nesting and breeding season from 1 March to 31 August.’

Protection of reptiles is also an active planning consideration for local planning authorities and should be taken seriously. It is not unknown for planning authorities to ask for a survey to be carried out to determine any population of reptiles in the area of a new development and if necessary, ask for any population to be gathered and moved to another suitable habitat. Once again a licence from Natural England may be required.

Protection of endangered species is now taken very seriously and ignoring legislation designed to protect these can lead to fines of up to £5,000 per offence and/or prison sentences of up to six months.

More detailed advice on how to proceed legally can be obtained from your Local Authority Planning Department, or Natural England, via their website; https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/natural-england

If you are considering buying or selling a home, you may find some of these services useful: