Get ecology advice before submitting a planning application

Our experts can offer specialist ecology advice as a standalone advice service, or as part of a wider planning pre-application service.

Pre-application advice

Larger or more complex development proposals can benefit from pre-application advice. This is a charged service which can include various specialists including ecology.

This can:

help you to understand any problems early on in the project and find a solution
reduce the time, cost and risk of dealing with issues later
ensure that any ecological surveys are carried out at the correct time of year to the required standards and help prevent delays in the development process

You should be aware that pre-application advice does not mean that your application will be approved.

Householder service fees
Service	What you get	Fee (VAT inclusive)
Standard Advice service	This service usually includes: - one hour desk-based research - a written response within 20 working days of receipt. Additional time is charged at hourly increments based on the hourly rate of £112	£167
Standard Advice service with site visit	This service usually includes: - one hour desk-based research - one hour site visit within 10 working days of receipt* - written response within 10 working days of site visit. Additional time is charged at hourly increments based on the hourly rate of £112 .* subject to client availability.	£412

Commercial and major development schemes
Service	What you get	Fee (VAT inclusive)
Standard Advice service	This service usually includes: - one hour desk-based research - a written response within 20 working days of receipt .Additional time is charged at hourly increments based on the hourly rate of £112	£334
Standard Advice service with site visit	This service usually includes: -one hour desk-based research -one hour site visit within 10 working days of receipt* - written response within 10 working days of site visit. Additional time is charged at hourly increments based on the hourly rate of£112. * subject to client availability.	£579

Fast Track
Service	What you get	Fee (VAT inclusive)
Fast Track Service	This service usually includes for an additional fee: - for standard advice, written response within 10 working days of receipt - for standard advice plus site visit, written response within 5 working days of visit (subject to client availability)	£620

Ecology screening visit

Householder or smaller development proposals can benefit from an ecology screening visit.

This service can:

help identify whether protected species or priority habitats are present or likely to be present
determine whether the development proposals are likely to impact any protected species or priority habitats found
explain what further surveys or measures are required to support your planning application

You can request an ecology screening visit to check if these habitats or species could be at the site of your proposed development.

How it works

We normally visit household properties or agricultural buildings that may be a home for bats or nesting birds. However, other protected species such as barn owls and great crested newts can also be covered.

Habitats that can be screened include ponds, woodland or grassland.

If there is evidence or potential for protected species, or a priority habitat is present, you’ll need to:

submit a supporting ecological assessment with your planning application
consider changes to your proposal to reduce any harm to habitats or species

This is why it’s important for our ecologist to carry out a visit as soon as possible, and ideally before any plans are drawn.

Before you request a visit

Before you request a visit, check with ecologists if a screening visit would be appropriate.

To request ecology advice, email your local team:

Aylesbury Vale: [email protected]
Chiltern and South Bucks: [email protected]
Wycombe: [email protected]

Fees

A screening visit will cost £245 (including VAT).
Additional time is charged at hourly increments at an hourly rate of £112 including VAT.

What’s included

The visit usually includes:

a site visit of up to 1 hour
a written response, within 5 days of the site visit

Request now