Preliminary Ecological Appraisal

Why ecologists are now using UKHab surveys

Graham conducting a habitat survey

You may have noticed that ecologists and consultancies are moving away from the use of the JNCC Phase 1 habitat survey methodology to conduct habitat surveys and are instead using the newer UK Habitat (UKHab) Classification Working Group methodology. The UKHab classification system was released back in 2018 and it has since seen a near industry wide uptake for using this methodology, including Wild Frontier Ecology.

UKHab is a much newer classification system compared to JNCC’s Phase 1 with the last edition published in 1992. Legislation, policies, industry standards and mapping have changed considerably in that time and the UKHab classification system now provides a more modern and simple classification tool relevant for the present day. UKHab also has a greater variety of habitat types available for the surveyor to classify habitats compared to the older Phase 1 classifications. For example, there are 29 different primary codes for grassland with different categories covering lowland and upland grasslands. There is no longer a ‘semi-improved grassland’ category which will be familiar to those who previously used the Phase 1 classifications.

Producing habitat maps within GIS is a key part of Wild Frontier Ecology’s work and UKHab is designed for producing maps within GIS. This easily helps us to produce detailed habitat maps for our clients, which becomes slightly trickier if you’re using the Phase 1 classifications as it was designed for producing maps with paper and colouring pencils. UKHab has a standardised symbology much like Phase 1, which makes the habitat maps easy to interpret.

Biodiversity Net Gain was enshrined in law within the Environment Act 2021 and is expected to become mandatory for all large development projects in November 2023. To produce a Net Gain assessment for a proposed development the practitioner must use DEFRA’s Biodiversity Metric. The Biodiversity Metric uses the UKHab classification methodology and it is one of the main reasons why many ecology practitioners have switched to using UKHab. It saves time for ecologists to use UKHab, as otherwise all habitats classified using Phase 1 will need to be reinterpreted to use DEFRA’s Biodiversity Metric.

Though there are many benefits to UKHab it is not perfect and will likely be continually updated in response to the feedback from ecologists and other practitioners.

Preliminary Ecological Appraisal – Grassland case study

In September 2022 a small housing development was proposed for an area of retained tussocky grassland (0.3ha) in Norfolk. The client required a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) to assess the ecological impact of developing such a site. The PEA was used to support an outline planning permission application.

The site received an Extended UK Habitat survey which involved a walkover of the proposed development site and an assessment for the suitability of two nearby ponds for breeding great crested newts. The walkover identified the habitat type of the grassland as rank modified grassland with low floristic value, there were two fruit trees with bat roosting potential and the site is enclosed by largely native hedgerows of varying quality.

Close up of slow worm held in hand

Slow worms are one of the reptile species that can be found in grassland habitats.

The report advised the client that further reptile surveys would be needed before any development works can begin, as tussocky grassland is favoured by reptiles. One of the trees with bat roost potential was also identified for further surveying effort, as the current plans showed the tree would be removed by the proposed development. A full, detailed investigation of all the potential roost features of this tree using torches and endoscopes was advised before the main bat activity surveys with a further two inspections within the bat activity season. The report also provided a Precautionary Working Method for great crested newts to avoid impacts to great crested newts during construction.

Our report supplied the client with provisional habitat mitigation including advice for planting six native fruit trees and the sowing of a wildflower meadow to compensate for the loss of grassland habitat. We also provided advice for ecological enhancements which included the incorporation of integral bat and bird boxes within all dwellings at the proposal site.

The flagging of the above further surveys from this report is important for the client as these surveys are typically only possible within a short survey window. Knowing these details will help the client to better plan the timescale for the development and what particular aspects may be possible at certain times of the year. The client is also now looking into the feasibility of retaining the fruit trees with bat roost potential.

Preliminary appraisal used to inform project design

In March 2019 a small proposed housing development in Suffolk required a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (or PEA) to understand ecological risks prior to our client making key planning and design decisions.  We would always advise doing this: issues flagged early can avoid significant delays and costs associated with seasonal survey constraints and re-design. Unfortunately an all too common occurrence when this advice is not followed.

In this case we were able to inform the client of the presence of great crested newts and reptiles in the surrounding area, both of which were flagged by a habitat survey and the data search we conducted. The data search also identified a sensitive grassland close by which was a County Wildlife Site.

ecological appraisal informs project design

A great crested newt found on site

The report we produced provided clear advice on the next steps, timings for necessary surveys, likely mitigation requirements and possible future licencing requirements. This information was fed into the design and planning stages.

Incidentally, the required great crested newt eDNA surveys were mobilised in April and we were able to complete our final report for planning by late May 2017 with no delay to the project timetable. If the client had come to us at the end of their design process, due to the seasonality of the surveys needed, the project would have been delayed until early-2020.

Appraisal of two golf courses

Preliminary ecological appraisal of two golf courses

Golf course, Norfolk

Persimmon Homes commissioned WFE to provide a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal of two golf courses in Norfolk. We conducted a desk study and Extended Phase 1 Habitat Survey. These were used to provide detailed ecological constraints and opportunities mapping and to help identify key ecological features on the two sites.

Further protected species surveys were advised, including bat surveys, reptile surveys and breeding bird surveys. These were used to further inform the design and development of the sites, and future Ecological Impact Assessment screening.

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