Devon Wildlife Report

Devon Wildlife Report

Have you been asked to provide a Devon Wildlife Report by a local planning authority? Maybe you’ve completed a wildlife and geology trigger list and answered ‘yes’ to one of the questions that triggers a wildlife report?

Here at Western Ecology, we’ve got years of experience in carrying out and providing Devon wildlife reports to support your planning application, making us the ideal choice for your local wildlife reporting needs.

What is a Devon Wildlife Report?

The report is designed to help both developers and Devon County Council identify whether a proposal may impact on protected or priority habitats and species. This includes bats, reptiles, dormice and nesting birds.

What Does a Devon Wildlife Report Involve?

In order to carry out the wildlife report, our ecologists will carry out an initial site walkover survey to identify both known and potential impacts.
If any potential impacts are identified, we may need to carry out further detailed surveying work to clarify our findings. Should we identify a potential impact to species such as dormice or bats, these detailed surveys will need to be carried out at specific times of the year (I.e. When the species are active and not hibernating), the timing of which is dependent on species. It’s important that wildlife surveys are timetabled into your project plan so that you’re not wasting time or money.

The report can vary in detail and length, dependent on the survey findings. If there are no identified impacts on ecology, the report will be a relatively short document that includes:

• A map of your site
• A Devon Wildlife checklist
• A short summary of the methodology
• A short summary of findings and results

If impacts are identified, the Devon Wildlife Report will be a much more substantial document, similar to an Extended Phase 1 Habitat Survey report. The report will also feature a Devon Wildlife checklist, an assessment of impacts and a Conservation Statement.

How Much Will a Devon Wildlife Report Cost?

The cost of a Devon Wildlife Report is calculated using the following criteria:

• Site size
• Travel costs
• Level of report needed

When we provide you with a fee proposal for this kind of wildlife report, we will need to judge whether a project is likely to have an effect on biodiversity before we even visit the site. This is because the different levels of reporting cost different amounts. To avoid impacting heavily on your project budget, we always provide a fee proposal that outlines the costings of a short report (For sites without impacts) and a detailed report (For complex sites with impacts). Wherever possible, we will give you an indication of which report is the most likely for your site.

In theory, a short Devon Wildlife Report on a single field, with no impact on wildlife in Plymouth, the South Hams or West Devon will cost in the region of £750 + VAT.

A more complex and detailed report for sites with identified impact on wildlife may cost in excess of £800 + VAT. A fee of £129.50 + VAT is also charged for a biological records search from the local biodiversity records centre, which is organised on your behalf. The Ordnance Survey base map is also required, which starts at £20 + VAT.