Ecology, biodiversity and District Level Licensing

Ecology

Protected species are a material consideration in the planning process. Information about the presence of protected species will be required before an application can be determined (surveys cannot be conditioned as part of a planning consent).

You can view and search for more information on ecology and biodiversity within the district by visiting the Cambridge and Peterborough Environmental Records Centre.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide any necessary surveys or ecological assessments and these should be undertaken by a suitably qualified expert. It is important to remember that some surveys can only be carried out at specific times of the year. You can check the guide below for the optimal survey times:

More information on the requirements for planning applications is available in the GOV.UK: Standing Advice for Protected Species.

Biodiversity

Protected habitats should also be given consideration when proposing new development. Cambridgeshire County Council has produced a Biodiversity Checklist and Biodiversity Guidance Notes which provides more information on habitats for developers:

Developers will be expected to demonstrate how their proposal, small or large, has considered nature conservation and biodiversity and wherever possible we would expect to see existing features retained and opportunities for new features to be created. 

Cambridgeshire District Level Licensing - Great Crested Newts

District Level Licensing is now available in East Cambridgeshire and additional information can be found on the GOV.UK website.

If you are a developer proposing to develop land where your work will disturb or damage great crested newt (GCN) habitat (ponds and land around ponds). You must apply for a licence to prevent any illegal actions to this protected species.

There are now a few different ways to apply for a licence from Natural England to do development or other work that may affect great crested newts:

• District Level Licensing - Cambridgeshire has a District Level Licensing (DLL) scheme which is a quicker and simpler option to applying for a GCN mitigation licence
• GCN Mitigation Licence - Apply for a traditional GCN mitigation licence  
• A Low Impact Class Licence - This scheme only applies where impacts to GCN and their habitat are considered to be small scale. This is implemented through a consultant ecologist who is registered for the scheme

Benefits of district level licensing 

There are many benefits to district level licensing including:

• better conserves GCN 
• simple to use 
• offers developers certainty in terms of costs and timescales 
• developments that have been through planning will not be held up by protracted post-planning licensing 
• results in lots of high value, secure ponds for newts which are managed and monitored for the long term 

The cost to join the DLL scheme

Natural England have put together documentation to explain the breakdown of fees and how they calculate the cost to join the scheme, together with some examples:

Webinars

Natural England ran a series of webinars with the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) to provide more information on DLL:

• District Level Licensing: How the NE-led scheme works – scheme overview 
• District Level Licensing: eDNA Survey and Data Collection – evidence base #1 
• District Level Licensing: Species Distribution Modelling – evidence base #2 
• District Level Licensing: Habitat Delivery for the NE-led scheme - Habitat Delivery 
• District Level Licensing: How to apply – Application process 

Natural England's DLL Framework document 

This Framework document sets out the overarching principles for Natural England's expectations for applications for organisational licences and will also apply to Natural England in the administration of its own DLL schemes.  This document is aimed at helping organisations who are interested in participating in DLL.  This document explains how Natural England approaches the assessment of such a scheme under the legal licensing tests and relevant policy, and the documents and mechanisms that are likely to enable a licence to be granted.

Data open to all 

As part of the district level licensing project, Natural England completed the largest ever survey of its type for great crested newts across England, funded by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). Read their gov.uk blog to find out more about this open and published data.