Introduction to surveys:

Our in-house science team undertake a wide range of site investigations. The need for ecological surveys may arise for many reasons – to support a planning application, for habitat monitoring, as part of environmental audit, to verify regulatory compliance, etc.

Change of land use (building houses, roads or factories, or extracting minerals, for example) almost invariably requires an ecological survey. Changes of land use are commonly grouped under the generic term “development”, and surveys are conducted in the context of the project’s immediate footprint and the surrounding area. They examine the existing nature conservation resource, identify potential impacts, and provide data for considering mitigation and enhancement options and/or detail for the compensation of any unavoidable losses.

Betts Ecology’s report findings and recommendations produce practical solutions, free of bias or lobbying, and we’ll offer you only sensible advice about constraints, opportunities and benefits.

For all surveys, we need to establish:

• A location and site plan with at least a broad outline of the development project or other reasons why a survey is needed;
  
• The appropriate level of detail for the circumstances;
  
• The timing (some types of survey have seasonal constraints);
• The reporting method (which can range from a simple phone call or email to a full written paper or personal presentation).

Baseline Surveys (our protocol HAUD1):

This is a straightforward ecological audit of a site: a walk-over inspection and a short focus report. It can be expected to determine the obvious presence of notable or protected species or ecological features, and will broadly describe and appraise the habitat conditions. Baseline surveys are a good way to obtain an ecological snapshot of a site and discover if there are matters that require fuller, more specialist investigation. On some sites of low wildlife interest, it is all that is needed.

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