Updated: Updated Short form business case.
The Business case template replaces the Project Appraisal Report (PAR) template and applies the 5 case model. The Short Form Business case template is a new form for use on smaller projects (where project costs are less than £2million)
You must complete either the business case or short form template when you submit a business case in support of a flood risk capital grant claim.
Updated: Change to the email address to send an organisational licence application.
You can get an unlimited fine and up to 6 months in prison if you don’t have a licence when carrying out an activity that needs one.
You must normally be at least 18 to apply for a wildlife licence. However, you might be able to apply if you’re at least 16 and you have wildlife licensing qualifications or awards.
You need a licence from Natural England if you plan to disturb or remove wildlife or damage habitats.
You’ll need a licence if your work is to:
Most licences are free and last for a limited period. You’ll only need to pay if you get a licence for a business or an organisation.
To use any licence you must:
You don’t need a licence to control pests such as rats and cockroaches. Read more on pest control on your property to find out what you can do without a licence.
You need a general licence for some types of work that have a low risk for the conservation or welfare of a protected species.
See the full list of species and activities that need a general licence.
You don’t need to apply for these licences but you must follow the conditions written on any licence you use.
You need a class licence if you’re doing work that needs a specific skill or experience to avoid risk to the conservation or welfare of a protected species.
See the full list of species and activities that need a class licence.
You must check the licence conditions written on the licence you want to use to see if you’re eligible.
To use any of these licences you must register with Natural England. How you register, and how long it takes, depends on the licence. Registration usually takes about 15 days.
You may need to provide references or other documentation to support your application.
You must apply for an individual licence if you’re doing any activity that affects a protected species and isn’t covered by a general or class licence. This includes activities such as:
To find out if you need to apply for an individual licence, see the full list of licences for:
You also need an individual licence to release a species into the wild if it’s not a species usually found in Great Britain or is listed as an invasive species.
If your work affects European protected species you need to apply for a mitigation licence. See the list of species that need a mitigation licence. You’ll need to send additional information to support your application.
It usually takes 30 working days to get an individual licence.
You can get an organisational licence if your business undertakes an activity that:
This means you won’t need to apply for a separate licence each time you carry out that activity.
To get an organisational licence you’ll need to show you’ve consistently met the conditions of other types of wildlife licences in the past.
You can’t get this licence if:
You can ask Natural England if you need an organisational licence before you apply. This advice is free.
To apply for this licence, complete the
and send it to protectedspecieslicensingandmanagement@naturalengland.org.uk.
Natural England will contact you within 15 working days to:
You must pay Natural England for the time it takes to produce your organisational licence and this will be agreed in advance.
You’ll pay:
If Natural England need to visit your site you’ll pay:
If you’re doing conservation work, your organisational licence might be free. Natural England will tell you if this is the case.
Read
and Natural England’s terms and conditions for paid-for services.
You only need to apply for individual and organisational licences.
You can apply for individual licences online or by post. You may find it quicker to apply by post if you only need one licence.
You need to send applications for organisational licences to protectedspecieslicensingandmanagement@naturalengland.org.uk.
Find out how to apply for individual licences online using Natural England’s case work management system.
If you’ve already registered with Natural England and have a Government Gateway account you can apply online.
Send your completed application and any documents to:
Natural England
Horizon House
Deanery Road
Bristol
BS1 5AH
Email
wildlife@naturalengland.org.uk
Telephone
020 8026 1089
You’ll get a letter from Natural England asking you for more information if they think you haven’t provided enough information in your application.
You won’t get your licence unless you provide the information they need.
Your application will be closed if you don’t provide the information needed within 6 months.
Natural England may sometimes share the information you submit to them with third parties. We only share information when necessary and, whenever possible, anonymously.
Read the wildlife licensing privacy notice for more information.
You can get your licence replaced if you lose it. Email:
Replacement licences are free.
You can sometimes apply for an extension to your licence if you’re unable to complete an activity before a licence expires.
Contact Natural England as soon as possible at:
You must apply for a new licence if your licence has expired.
Updated: Clarification on guidance to upgrade a survey class licence.
You must give written references to support a photography, survey, science, conservation, research or European protected species mitigation licence application or registration if you:
Use this guidance to find out about who can be your referee and the experience you both need.
Updated: Separate class licence registration form Class-A34 added for volunteer bat roost visitor and survey use.
You should use form A34 to apply for a personal:
To apply for a personal licence you need to include a project plan showing the objectives of the project and why the work is necessary.
You should use form Class A-34 to register for a:
When applying for your first level 1 VBRV licence you must:
When applying for your first level 2 VBRV licence you must:
You’ll need a different licence to capture, disturb or transport bats, or damage their roosts.
You may need to complete a reference form when you apply for these licences if you:
You must report any actions you took using these licences on the report form LR34 on this page. You must a report no later than 2 weeks after your licence expires, even if you’ve taken no action. Send your completed form by post or email to Natural England using the details on the form.
Updated: Updated the section on ‘exceptional cases’ for carrying out works without a licence.
You are responsible for finding out if your development is likely to affect a protected area or site. Your planning authority may not grant you planning permission if it damages a protected area or site.
The following areas are protected:
Search the mapping tool to see if your development is in or near protected land. To find out how your development proposals will be affected by a protected site, contact your local planning authority.
You can get advice from Natural England if your plans affect protected areas. You might have to pay a fee.
You must consider how your development proposal will affect any nearby SSSI, SPA, SAC or Ramsar site.
Check how your activity could affect an SSSI, SPA, SAC or Ramsar site with the ‘risk zone’ feature of this mapping tool, or download the SSSI impact risk zone data for your own software.
Your planning authority may consult Natural England if your activity potentially affects a protected site in the risk zone. They can ask you to change your plans, do the work in a certain way or refuse you planning permission.
Government agencies, councils and other public bodies need to request permission from Natural England for activities that could damage SSSIs.
If your proposal also affects a European protected site which is, or is proposed as, a SAC, SPA or Ramsar wetland, the planning authority will need to do a Habitats Regulations assessment. You may need to give the planning authority extra information to help them do this assessment, eg extra survey information.
Many species of plant and animal in England, and their habitats, are protected by law. What you can and can’t do by law varies from species to species.
European protected species have the highest level of protection and include:
You’re breaking the law if you:
Disturbing a protected species includes any deliberate activity that affects:
If you’re found guilty of an offence you could get an unlimited fine and up to 6 months in prison.
Other protected species and groups include:
You need to apply for a development licence if your plans affect badgers. However for other non-European Protected Species, you can’t apply for a development licence. In some circumstances Natural England will consider issuing a licence where there’s a conservation benefit for the affected species, such as the water vole.
In most circumstances, you should be able to avoid causing harm to protected species by either:
In exceptional cases, avoiding harm isn’t possible. In these cases the law allows for actions which would normally be illegal if you can show that:
This exception is often called the ‘incidental result defence’. You can only use this if you’re able to show you’ve covered all parts of the defence by:
A court would decide if you have applied the defence properly. You should get professional advice before you use the defence.
You’ll need to decide if your project will affect a protected species or its habitat, and whether you’ll need a licence. You can get expert advice from an ecologist to help you decide.
You should try everything else possible to avoid disturbing the species, blocking access to or damaging its habitat. In most cases you should be able to plan the work to achieve this.
If this isn’t possible and your activity will affect the species, you can apply for a mitigation licence. Applying for a licence should be your last resort and only applies to a minority of cases. Your ecologist should help you with your application.
Your ecologist will conduct surveys to show how the species uses the area, and develop mitigation plans to reduce any negative effects.
You’ll need to include the survey findings, impact assessments and mitigation plans (to reduce harm to the species) with your mitigation licence application.
Find out what’s required to get a mitigation licence
If you apply for a mitigation licence from Natural England, you’ll need an ecologist to:
You can find an ecologist from:
Appointing an ecologist isn’t required by law, but you’ll need expert help with your mitigation licence application.
Commission a survey by an experienced and qualified ecologist if you think protected species could be present on or near the site you intend to develop. If there’s no evidence of protected species, you can continue with your development or planning application.
If the survey shows that protected species use the site, your ecologist will:
Surveys should be done at the right time of year. Read the how to review planning proposals guidance to find out when you can do surveys.
Your planning authority is likely to refuse planning permission if your proposal would harm protected species. You’ll need to show that you’ve considered the following steps.
Avoid harming the species, eg by locating the works far enough away from protected species.
If you can’t avoid affecting the species, reduce harm (mitigate), eg by restoring habitats to how they were before the development.
If avoidance and mitigation aren’t possible, compensate for any harmful effects, eg by creating new habitats.
You may need to include a mitigation strategy with your survey report if you’re applying for planning permission. The planning authority will review your mitigation plans along with the survey data to assess how your proposals will affect wildlife. If you’re applying for mitigation licences from Natural England, you’ll include mitigation plans and survey findings as part of your method statement.
Your mitigation strategy should aim to:
Licences are free. Allow up to 30 working days for a licensing decision to be made.
Find out how to apply online, by post or email.
You should get planning permission (if it’s required) before applying for a mitigation licence.
You can get advice from Natural England about your draft licence application. This advice is available for bats, great crested newts and hazel dormice. You’ll have to pay a fee.
Natural England
Horizon House
Deanery Road
Bristol
BS1 5AH
Email
wildlife@naturalengland.org.uk
Telephone
020 8026 1089
Find out what planning authorities look for in applications that affect protected sites and species.