When a development programme begins to slip, ecology can become an easy target. A bat survey is required, a protected species is discovered, or further work can’t proceed until the appropriate survey period. From the perspective of a project team working to a fixed programme, ecology can seem like a new obstacle.
In many cases, however, the ecological constraint was already present. The problem is that it was identified too late. For developers, public bodies, utilities, architects and engineering consultancies, timing matters. Early ecological assessment will not remove ecological constraints, but it can identify them while there is still time to respond without major redesign or disruption.
The site does not change because the ecologist has not yet arrived
A building containing a bat roost contains that roost whether it is surveyed at feasibility stage or shortly before demolition. The same applies to an important hedgerow, wetland, watercourse, invasive species infestation or other ecological constraint. What changes is the project team’s ability to respond.
When ecological issues are identified while layouts are still being developed, several practical options may be available. Once planning drawings, drainage layouts, access routes and construction programmes are substantially fixed, those options become more limited and potentially more expensive. This is why ecology is most useful when treated as a design input rather than documentation added at the end of the process.
Ecological surveys also have a lifespan
Early survey work matters, but you should not assume ecological information remains valid indefinitely. Sites change. Habitats develop, management practices alter, and mobile species can move into an area between the original survey and construction.
Badgers provide a good example. A sett recorded as inactive during one survey may subsequently be reused. Badgers can use several setts within a territory and may excavate new entrances or establish new setts. These changes can affect the mitigation required and the appropriate buffer between construction activity and a sett.
For this reason, pre-construction mammal surveys provide an important final check on the conditions actually present when works are about to begin. As a precautionary approach, VEON recommends that these are undertaken no more than six months before construction and, where appropriate, as close as practicable to commencement of works. An earlier ecological survey should therefore be viewed as a baseline, not necessarily the final word on a site.
Seasonal surveys do not always fit the project programme
Some ecological surveys can be carried out throughout much of the year. Others depend on the activity, visibility, or breeding behaviour of particular species and must be undertaken during suitable periods. Bat surveys are a good example. Different survey types have appropriate survey periods, and some information can only be obtained reliably when bats are active.
For project managers, the key point is that you cannot simply move the appropriate survey period because a planning deadline has changed. If survey work should have been undertaken earlier in the year, commissioning an ecologist late in the season may mean waiting for another suitable opportunity.
Breeding birds create similar programme considerations. Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976, as amended, generally restricts the cutting or destruction of certain vegetation between 1 March and 31 August, subject to exemptions. Separate legal protections also apply to wild birds, their eggs and nests.
Protected species can occur almost anywhere
Ecological risk is not confined to designated conservation sites. Irish bat species, for example, are protected under national and European legislation. A warehouse, derelict building, mature tree, bridge or apparently ordinary development site can therefore contain a protected ecological feature.
Planning permission does not remove separate obligations under wildlife legislation. Where protected species are involved, mitigation or licensing may be required. Finding this out early provides time to plan. Discovering it shortly before demolition or site clearance can have a much greater impact on the programme.
Ecology does not end with planning permission
Ecological requirements may continue through detailed design, procurement and construction. A planning permission may contain ecological conditions. An Ecological Impact Assessment or Natura Impact Statement may include mitigation measures. Those commitments need to move from the ecology report into drawings, tender documents, method statements and construction programmes.
Problems arise when that handover does not happen. A habitat protection area may conflict with a later construction compound. Lighting may be redesigned without considering bats. Drainage proposals may change after the ecological assessment has been completed.
The same principle applies to survey information. If considerable time passes between planning and construction, the ecological baseline may need to be checked again.
Ecology as programme protection
No ecologist can guarantee that early engagement will prevent every ecological issue or delay. Surveys can reveal unexpected findings, conditions can change, and statutory processes may require further work.
Early involvement provides information while the project team still has choices. A developer can adjust a layout. An engineer can revise drainage. A project manager can plan around seasonal restrictions. A design team can allow time for further surveys, mitigation or licensing. The sensible approach is therefore not simply to commission ecology early and consider the job finished. Instead, keep ecological information under review throughout the life of the project and reconfirm conditions where necessary before construction begins.
Ecology should be considered alongside planning, engineering, drainage, arboriculture and other disciplines from the outset, and remain part of the project as it progresses. Not because every site has a major ecological constraint, but because it is far better to identify a change while there is still time to act.