UKH

Wondering if anyone with ecologist credentials can advise: Developers want to build on a site butting onto our village conservation area; a green field. Their ecologist has visited during May  which was the driest on record and classed the ditches which surround the field as defunct ie having no drainage function against a hedgerow regulations metric. This has allowed him to class the hedges as a poor habitat. I've challenged this officially. 

Is there an interactive tool that he's used to give him the score the developers need?

There are loads of species using the hedgerows which surround the 2hectare site, including yellowhammer, starling, grey partridge,willow tit...you name it.

The ditches are vital to the safe drainage of surface water and managed by a Drainage Board. All facts he never mentions in his report.

For the record, the village has already had 13 ha of green field committed to new build and the Council have voted in favour of a 3000-4000 house new settlement 2 miles away. So: not short of accommodation here.

In reply to Pete Pozman:

I don't know anything about ecology but I suspect given the current state of the economy a lot of planning issues will be nudged aside at the moment. 

In reply to Pete Pozman:

I shall message the 2 ecologists I know, is it the existence of an interactive tool you're interested in most particularly?

From volunteering with some, I get the sense that it's more along the lines of there being criteria they'd look out for, along the lines of vegetation and water which would provide food and habitat, but that's the sum of my knowledge.

'bump'

In reply to Timmd:

I have the impression that most of the consultants involved in the planning process start with "desk top" exercises, then construct justifications using formulae and professional forms of words.

My man's assessment of species presence is largely based on a regional database which is updated twice yearly. Of course local people know nothing of this and just see a watervole or a curlew and just tell people. If the ecologist doesn't spot a species on his "walkover" then it seems it can't exist within the planning process. I have submitted a photo gallery of species taken in the vicinity by locals. He refers to them as "alleged" sightings. Our lack of methodology is criticised. I'd like to understand how they really work.

Of course the consultees who have no credibility are the public. 

In reply to Pete Pozman:

I'd maybe try your local wildlife trust. Lots of local authorities have really scaled back their supervision of ecological planning considerations ant the Trust have taken up some of the slack. Depends a lot from county to county how active they are, though

In reply to toad: Great idea.

In reply to Pete Pozman: How annoying. I guess in the worst case you could write into the local papers and take more direct action like the tree protectors in Sheffield did do, and ask for longer term monitoring to be done to build up a truer picture. When helping out in newt surveying it was done over a number of weeks, one could look into things like that and use them as an example to help when writing in ('ie ...how can one survey done in the driest conditions on record present a true picture? ) ? They really made a difference in the end.

Hopefully you won't need to, but if you present things rhetorically pretty well as well as factually, that's got to help.

In reply to Pete Pozman:

You have yellowhammers?! They disappeared from our village years ago

Good luck.

In reply to Pete Pozman:

I'd be suspicious of any report done by one person based on a single visit. I'm a plant ecologist & could write a good report on the plants visible at that point in time but if I visited in May would likely miss plants flowering earlier or later in year. I am also fairly useless on other groups & the N° of people really competent across many species groups is pretty small. Toad's suggestion of finding the local wildlife trust would also have been mine along with contacting other groups such as Plantlife or the Botanical Society of the British Isles (plants), RSPB (birds) or Buglife (insects & similar groups).

In reply to Pete Pozman:

Not sure why the drainage issue is relevant to the importance of a hedgerow. Hedgerows are scored in relation to the criteria set out in the Hedgerows Regulations which takes into account no of woody species, connectivity with other hedgerows, likely age of the hedgerow and other factors. I dont remember the existence of a drainage ditch ever being a relevant factor in assessing the importance of a hedgerow. The developer should be commissioning a separate ecological survey which assesses the importance of the site for other ecological interests including birds. Unfortunately none on your list are european protected species so the level of protection is a bit lower

In reply to Pete Pozman:

What size is the development, a single house, industrial estate etc.?

You say abutts a conservation area, so it's not within it?

'A green field' - in my experience this doesn't really mean anything (unfortunately).

Normal process would be to buy desk study data to see which species could be potentially present in the area. From that further surveys will be undertaken. Note that lack of records doesn't prove absence (is the official sentence).

The first field survey would probably be a walkover or more specifically and extended Phase 1 habitat survey. The survey will identify broad habitat types e.g. woodland, grassland, ponds etc., and the 'extended' section will look for suitable habitat to support protected species e.g. bats, badgers, newts etc.

In the Phase 1 report recommendations will be made for further species specific surveys. And the reports, including the results of these surveys, will then be submitted for planning. The county (council) ecologist will review the reports and so will other specialists for other disciplines i.e. land contamination, maybe air quality etc. (depends on level of development) and then a decision will be made and planning permission approved or rejected accordingly. 

I doubt planning permission will be granted on the basis of one survey! I suspect more will be conducted. And unfortunately, the presence of yellowhammers, reed buntings etc. won't get in the way of a planning application being approved! And in all honesty no species will, it might delay but it won't stop a development. 

Re calculations, biodiversity metrics are now wanted by many councils, I'm learning as most ecologists are, but basically there can't be a net loss of habitat for any development. It would be easy to review for someone in the know so it may well be your complaint may has traction.

It was a whirlwind tour and I'm no expert but the above is the minimum that I'd expect for any development of any size (the bigger development the more likely more surveys are required).

Thanks,

Stuart.

In reply to Pete Pozman:

I am afraid that I have no faith in the Planning process based on our experience up here in Scotland. There are 'tame' ecological consultants who will carry out surveys to prove whatever the developer wants. We are opposing a quarrying re-opening on the outskirts of Stirling in an area that has become popular with a wide range of users. A 300 page report by local - qualified - volunteers provides evidence of key species - nesting peregrines, red squirrel, pine marten, several bat species, great crested newts, plus a body of evidence of recreational value to a community. An ecology report found none of these in a one day walk over. To make it worse our evidence was rebutted by Scottish Natural Heritage as 'not of National importance - merely a local outpost'. The Pine Martens are important for control of Grey Squirrels, the pox that they carry has reached sites a few miles South, if it comes to us it has a through route to the Southern Highlands and beyond. The 'Save the red Squirrels' campaign know all about this but why SNH can't see this is a mystery to us. 

It is currently in an appeal process based on road access and it appears that the developer may be buying land to resolve this. Money counts in large amounts in Planning!

In reply to Pete Pozman:

i work in environmental management within the construction industry.

To get the best initial survey the licensed ecologists usually undertake a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal. This must follow a strict protocol set out by the CIEEM. They then should produce an PEA report using the same guidance from CIEEM.

If the report does not follow this then you should challenge this. Also you could always get a second opinion by instructing an ecologist to do another PEA. However they cost between £1000 to £3000 depending on the consultant.

In reply to Greylag:

Try googling the latest DEFRA biodiversity metric 2.0 spreadsheet and guidance docs.

In reply to Pete Pozman:

I have some sympathy for your environmental concerns, but you lost me with your last paragraph which revealed that you are just another NIMBY looking for an excuse to keep your village for local people.

In reply to Jon Greengrass:

just another NIMBY looking for an excuse to keep your village for local people

Everybody - including me and you - is a NIMBY, depending on what is being proposed, and where.

How about a noisy four lane motorway next to your front garden and a smelly waste incinerator out the back?

Would you have legitimate grounds for complaint?

In reply to AllanMac:

Strawman much?

In reply to Pete Pozman:

The drainage function of the ditches wouldn't be very relevant to an ecology report but you ought to check whether there is a site specific flood risk assessment and whether this issue is properly considered in it.

In reply to cumbria mammoth:

hi. drainage function can be relevant if the drain in non functional. i.e stagnant. this is because it can be a habitat for great crested newts. i have worked on quite few projects where newts have been found in non functioning field drainage systems. However, this should be put into context of other biological records for the area to take into account previous sightings and annual weather variance.

In reply to Pete Pozman:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/protected-species-how-to-review-planning-applic...

Do you, or local wildlife groups, have records of resident species eg yelllohammers?

In reply to scott culyer:

Interesting. So in declaring the ditches as non functional the ecologist is actually pointing out a factor against development and so the conclusion of poor habitat can't have come from this.

Well anyway, if the OP is concerned about drainage he wants to look for the FRA.

In reply to Jon Greengrass:

I wrote the last paragraph to forestall this kind of response. One landowner is selling off green field sites around the village. He's not on the verge of bankruptcy, to put it mildly. So far we've got to 300 extra houses, so an increase in the  size of the village of 50%. We're 10 miles from the nearest town. The first bus to our district town, 12 miles as the crow flies, leaves at 08:15 and the last bus back leaves at 16:45. No Sunday service. It is a nice village with a conservation area. A mixed population. The affordable house already built are not being claimed by local young people and even with the Government  incentive schemes , the non-affordable house are stalling. There is a defunct WWII bomber airfield which abutts the village, the owner of which offered his land for building. This was rejected in favour of the green field sites.

It gets my gall when a builder with the financial resources can pay a professional to simply say there is environmental net gain and because they have credentials are guaranteed to get their way. I can't for the life of me understand how a green field, hunted over by kestrel and barn owl, and hedgerows full of species can be blatted, dug up filled with hardcore and concrete, pile drived for a year or two then have generic housing units crammed on, result in anything but catastrophe for wildlife. From a heritage point of view it will complete the destruction of the Conservation Area setting.

What for? This is just property speculation red in tooth and claw.

In reply to Pete Pozman:

We fought against a local development for years, the builders just kept modifying the plans and resubmitting. Eventually they got approval. Started building and then started the process of applying for modifications to the approved plans etc (e.g. protected trees removed). 

So good luck!

In reply to RX-78:

This happened to the most recent bit of land sold off. They've nearly finished 144 "Linden Homes" which look like other developments all over the country. They started applying for 90, then it went up to 150. They got permission for 126 then without anyone noticing it crept back up to the current number. In the process they ripped out the ancient hedge around the church saying that their satellite imaging showed it belonged to them. People have been enticed into owning 25% of which they only have to find 5% and pay rent on the rest. I don't know how that is going to work out post virus. Meanwhile we're still selling off our council housing... 

In reply to cumbria mammoth:

it could have been that due to the dry conditions that the drain was dry at the time of the walkover. this could then have led to the assumption by the ecologist of no habitat, however they should have taken into account the local biological records for species and annual weather variations (even previous years satelite photos on google maps) as it may not be dry most of the year. not all surveys are equal and i have seen dodgy surveys just taking into account what they see at the time which not always a complete picture. that is why our organisation always uses the Preliminary Ecological Appraisal methodology by the CIEEM which helps to mitigate against this. i reject any reports that do not follow this methodology.

In reply to Pete Pozman:

[climb(No matches found,"")]

In reply to scott culyer:

I submitted the surface water flooding map which can be seen on the Government flooding website. Also the dykes are all managed by the Local drainage board who have put strict conditions on the site developers. One of the main reasons for objection is overflowing dykes and drains; we are low lying. All this documentation is available on the Council's planning site. I don't think the ecologist has an excuse for missing all this. His clients could have told him too. I have a feeling that the developers are used to communities just rolling over. As a result of our work the ecologist is on his 4th submission. I may submit a complaint to his professional body.

In reply to Timmd:

I am interested if there is an interactive tool. When I was teaching the metric tended to tell you whether you were a failing school or not and I have a feeling this is the way things are done increasingly.

In reply to toad:

The council seems to be losing quite a few posts. The Principal Landscape Architect who wrote a pretty damning submission concerning the plan, is gone and nobody has replaced him. So nobody to sustain his objection. For some reason the Planning Case Officer is all for the scheme. I suppose if central government is imposing housing targets with financial penalties, getting houses built, any houses, anywhere, is the only job in town. It's a shame I have to pay tax towards his salary though.

In reply to Timmd:

I've been on Look North and Local Radio... not always to my credit...

In reply to Bulls Crack:

I submitted photos of yellowhammers as did other objectors. I live opposite the site and see them regularly, not to be confused with greenfinches which are also present. The council's principal ecologist made the developer's ecologist do an updated survey as a result of this community action. He also explained to us where ecologists get their species data and showed us how to record our sightings and send them in. I've found iRecord which gives grid refs based on GPS signals so this helps. 

It's interesting that ordinary people have to be as precise as scientists, but a professional is only required to check a database and do a "snapshot" walkover. His first report made no mention of curlews, but now he has to admit they are close by and showing nesting behaviour. His explanation for yellowhammers is that they are probably nesting somewhere else.

Just had  a look at the planning site and he has submitted a copy of the Biodiversity metric he used, presumably. I've had to complain that they or he has submitted it so that only half a page is shown. 436 pages of unreadable pdf...