Protected Species and Biodiversity: A Guide for Planners and Ecologists

Description:

This book provides a single source of guidance on the protected-species survey data that accompany planning applications. Comprehensive and clear, it is an essential reference for planners and ecological consultants.

New development proposals potentially affect protected species on a daily basis. For the first time, this guide brings together in one place all the key elements needed to collect and interpret survey data for protected species and therefore help determine planning applications. By working through individual species and group tables, even the least experienced planner can begin critically to evaluate the often-variable material provided by ecologists in planning submissions.

Chapters cover: the planning system and biodiversity; government guidance and its interpretation; how to secure better quality data; the most recent standing advice; detailed notes on protected species; drawing in data from other surveys, and biodiversity net gain. Packed with information, the book also codifies what a planner expects from ecologists, so that both target audiences are able to work better together, and thus more effectively help safeguard protected species.

* Planners need a single source that tells them what to expect and consider when protected species are involved in a planning application: this book does that.

* Allows planners and opponents of planning applications to assess whether the material provided with a planning application is fit for purpose.

* Fills the gaps left by statutory advice from DEFRA, and affords providers and assessors of planning submissions the chance to talk on equal terms about protected species.