Natural England to Reduce the Burden

Natural England will launch a public consultation on new policies for European Protected Species (EPS) mitigation licensing in February 2016.  The aim is to move the focus to improving populations over the wider landscape rather than protecting individual animals on development sites.  The four new proposed policies will provide flexibility of the location of habitat provided as compensation, access for EPS to temporary habitats which will later be developed and, in some circumstances, allow a reduction in survey effort.  The consultation seeks to identify the extent to which the proposals would reduce delays, costs and uncertainties for developers and provide positive outcomes for EPS.  JFA intend to respond to the upcoming consultation and will provide further updates on this in the future.