The Council has a statutory duty to conserve and enhance biodiversity and to ensure compliance with the requirements of wildlife legislation, policy and the Local plan when assessing the impacts of proposed developments.
Depending on the scale, location and type of a proposed development, the Council may require that a planning application is supported by additional information – usually in the form of surveys, reports and recommendations by a professional ecologist. Planning applications are more likely to require ecological surveys where the proposal is close to, or likely to impact:
- Protected or priority species (e.g. bats, badgers, great crested newts, birds).
- Priority or irreplaceable habitats (e.g. woodland, lowland meadow).
- Designated sites (e.g. Local Wildlife Sites, Sites of Special Scientific Interest).
The Ecology and Biodiversity checklist can help applicants decide when their application may need to be accompanied by ecological information. Desk studies will be expected to be accompanied by a data search from the Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre.
Applications will need to show that the Mitigation Hierarchy has been followed in the preparation of any planning application: firstly, avoiding biodiversity impacts, then reducing, mitigating and as a last resort, compensating for them.
You are strongly recommended to consider and obtain ecological information as early as possible to inform a development’s design from the outset. This is usually easier and provides better outcomes for biodiversity, than putting in mitigation measures at a late stage. Surveys need to be carried out at the appropriate time of year and may require follow up surveys with seasonal constraints to early consideration avoids delays.
Where there are residual impacts on protected species a derogation licence and compensation may be required. For great crested newts the Council holds a Great Crested Newt District level licence that can avoid the need for full surveys and deliver off site compensation for this species.
The Council has joined a pilot scheme for off site Priority/Section 41 species compensation - NatureSpace Priority Species Scheme. Currently this is available with Local Planning Authority agreement to major developments for yellowhammer, skylark, linnet and hedgehog where application of the mitigation hierarchy demonstrates that off site compensation is required.
In addition to consideration of impacts on habitats and species all development, unless exempt, will be subject to Statutory Biodiversity Net Gain and the net gain condition (link to Biodiversity Net Gain block) and must submit the relevant information. Applicants should also consult the Oxfordshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy (link to LNRS section in other block?) to see how actions on site can be targeted to benefit nature.
Development is expected to incorporate enhancements for biodiversity both within green space and within the built environment to benefit nature and peoples access to it. Additional guidance on including species enhancements within developments can be found in ‘Homes for Wildlife and People’ produced by The Wildlife Trusts and endorsed by the Council.
Further guidance and information about Biodiversity and Ecology in Planning within Oxfordshire can be found on the Oxfordshire County Council website at Biodiversity and planning.