As we move into late winter, it’s that time of year when our ecologists start gearing up for the next survey season. It is also the last opportunity for our landscape architects to capture winter views of potential development before fresh leaf cover obscures views that will be critical in the planning balance. Missing the opportunity to start gathering data in early spring can delay project consents for a full calendar year, so it is essential to starting investing time now in planning to ensure that the right technical resources are available when needed.
From early March the ground warms up after winter, protected species like bats and great crested newts begin to emerge from winter dormancy, and nesting birds set their breeding territories. Each species only has a short survey window, with bats key window being May to the end of August and great crested newts between mid March and mid June. The window for gathering evidence to inform development is short and many species require multiple surveys, so advance planning is essential. Our survey calendar can be viewed here.
With more unpredictable weather patterns, such as late winter snowstorms, plunging temperatures and early emergence of flora and fauna, practical tasks like getting out to site for supervision of groundworks, can be delayed concentrating the season into a few short weeks.
The best way to avoid missing critical deadlines is to understand, as early as possible, the environmental project risks around a proposed project, and the type, scope and timing of any technical studies essential to the grant of development consents.
If you would like specific advice on landscape or ecology evidence gathering and design solutions, or even an informal preliminary steer on the scope of evidence required to inform a proposed development, please contact us on enquiries@thelandmarkpractice.com or telephone 0117 9230455