Ecological Surveys and Ecological Reports Services

What an Ecological Survey and Report from Adonis Ecology Can Do for You
If you need a professional Ecological Survey and Report for a planning application, Code for Sustainable Homes Ecology Section, BREEAM Ecology and Land Category or for legal compliance, if you need to keep costs down, and if you need to keep things running on time - you can have that and more with Adonis Ecology.

Our aim is to help create a situation where business and wildlife conservation is on the same side - where you can have more value and help conserve wildlife at the same time. To achieve this, we not only look for ways to save you money while ensuring your development complies with relevant wildlife legislation and planning policy, we also look for ways to actually add value so that you can have more profit and achieve a development which you can be proud of for the way it protects and enhances habitat for rare wildlife.

We would intend to develop a long term relationship with you as we have with our other ecological survey clients, most of whom are professional developers and their advisors, such as architects, planning consultants, and chartered surveyors, so you will find that:

• Our charges are fair and transparent (all fixed price quotes given in advance of each stage of work);
• We will keep you fully informed at each stage with the implications and options available to you;
• We will help you avoid problems and costs as far as possible;
• Our surveyors are professional, experienced and knowledgeable;
• We will look for ways to help you add value to your development as far as possible.

Your ecological survey and report from Adonis Ecology would achieve your goals in a highly cost-effective manner, because:

• Your survey would follow industry standard survey and good practice, ensuring that your survey and report would be respected by Local Planning Authorities and relevant ecology consultees, such as Natural England;
• Your survey would be thorough, using experienced ecological surveyors, thereby saving you the potential costs of additional survey visits and giving your report maximum credibility with the Local Planning Authority and relevant ecology consultees;
• Our recommendations to you would be proportionate in accordance with Natural England guidance, thereby ensuring you have the most cost-effective solutions;
• Your report would be professionally laid out and quality-checked to ensure clear, reasoned and proportionate conclusions and recommendations.
• You can be confident that we deliver what we promise, as our quality system is ISO 9001:2008 quality assured. In addition, here is an example from a client of Adonis Ecology of how our ecological surveys and reports can deliver for you:

"On behalf of PRP and I, we would like to thank you for your recent ecology report which you recently carried out. We were extremely impressed with your report which was thorough, very professional and excellent value for money. I must also thank you for your prompt response to my telephone call and for carrying out your inspection and preparing your report in such a short timescale. Rest assured I will have no hesitance in calling on you in the future or recommending you to others." David A. Hornbuckle FPCS MCECP. Brightsolo Ltd., Lincoln.

If you were to need more specific protected species surveys following your ecology survey, then these can only be carried out at particular times of year to conform to Natural England guidelines, so contact us today to discuss your site and requirements in more detail so you don`t risk missing the seasonal window - or you could have to wait for another year!

More detailed information on what to expect from an ecological survey and report from Adonis Ecology is given below.

What an Ecological Survey from Adonis Ecology Typically Includes
We would aim to cover as many relevant issues for you in one site visit, so as to save you time and money. Our ecological survey by experienced professional ecologists would cover the following as appropriate for your site and proposed activity (see linked pages for more details on specific assessment methods):

• Phase 1 Habitat Survey
• Botanical Survey, recording all native species as far as possible, mapping invasive species (e.g. Japanese Knotweed)and undertaking a Hedgerow Assessment to check for likely species rich hedgerows considered "important" under the Hedgerow Regulations
• Protected Species Habitat Assessment Survey
• Great Crested Newt Habitat Assessment
• Bat Survey of trees and buildings
• Reptile Habitat Assessment
• Nesting Bird Check
• Badger Sett and Signs Survey
• Water Vole Site Assessment and Survey
• Dormouse Site Assessment
• Invertebrate Habitat Assessment

We would also normally undertake a desk study to check for local records of significant species as well, as the occurence of local records affects the likelihood of significant species occurring on site.

As a result of your ecological survey, we would be able to give you an assessment of the likely ecological value of your site, the risk of ecological constraints to your proposed activities and how they might be avoided, mitigated or compensated for, and the potential for ecological opportunities to add value to your site.

What an Ecological Report from Adonis Ecology Typically Includes
Our reports aim to be clear and concise as possible to help you achieve your objectives. They are quality-checked before submission to the client and laid out in a professional manner to help ensure credibility with Local Planning Authorities, Natural England and other ecology consultees as appropriate, and have typically the following structure:

• Cover page, which apart from title and contact details includes the named surveyor and report reviewer
• Contents page
• Summary page, to enable you to rapidly see the key points and actions required
• Introduction confirming purpose, extent of survey and objectives of report
• Methods in accordance with industry standards and best practice
• Results
• Risk Assessment, giving likelihood of significant ecological issues occurring on site and risk of proposed activity impacting upon them (negative or positive impact)
• Recommendations, covering impact avoidance, further survey where impact cannot be avoided, outline mitigation strategy, and optional biodiversity enhancements to add value
• Conclusion - the expected final residual impact if recommendations followed (typically neutral to positive)
• References
• Appendices, including Phase 1 Habitat Plan, plant species list, photographs of key features on site, constraints and opportunities plan, recommended plant species for landscaping, etc.

What Happens Next...
If your ecological report is required for a planning application, then if significant impact on protected species or other ecological issues relevant to planning could be avoided within your development, taking into account our advice on avoidance methods, then the report could be submitted to the Local Planning Authority as part of your applicaton. Once you gain planning consent, we can guide you through impact avoidance measures to ensure that your proposed activity proceeds in compliance with legal and planning requirements.

If significant impact on protected species or other ecological issues relevant to planning or legal compliance could not be avoided within your development or proposed activity, taking into account our advice on avoidance methods, then you may require further, more detailed surveys of the relevant ecological issue in order that we can design a detailed mitigation method for you. For planning applications, please note that government guidance states that Local Planning Authorities should have all the survey and mitigation information BEFORE they decide a planning application - so these further surveys are almost always required before the planning application is decided, and are rarely made a condition of planning consent.

Examples of the types of more detailed surveys that may be required are given on the appropriate species survey page to be found under "Ecological Services" on the website menu.

Once sufficient information to produce a detailed mitigation plan was obtained and the mitigation plan produced, then the report or reports could be submitted to the Local Planning Authority for approval as part of the planning application.

After planning consent is obtained, we can help you implement the mitigation measures (e.g. Protected Species Mitigation) to ensure your development or proposed activity proceeds as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.