Ecology advice

There are many wildlife pieces of legislation that affect planning and developments within Lichfield District. Here you should find most of the information that you will need, but please contact us if you require more specific help and advice.

Wildlife legislation

• Wildlife and Countryside Act - this is the main legislation for the protection of wildlife in Great Britain. The act is separated into four parts – part 1 deals with the protection of wildlife. Species offered varying levels of protection by the act are listed under different schedules. The most important schedules in planning terms are schedule 1 (protected bird species), schedule 5 (other protected species of animal) and schedule 8 (protected plant species).
• Countryside and Rights of Way Act - the section of the act entitled ‘Nature Conservation’ strengthens and updates the Wildlife and Countryside Act legislation for protected species and sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs). It also places a duty on government departments to take biodiversity into consideration in all their functions.
• Conservation Regulations - this legislation lists European protected species of animals under its schedule 2. Species listed on schedule 2 are therefore offered a higher level of protection than those only listed on schedules of the Wildlife and Countryside.
• Protection of Badgers Act - amongst other things, this legislation makes it an offence to take, kill or injure a badger or disturb its sett.

Planning legislation

In addition to wildlife legislation, there are certain pieces of planning legislation that are central to the ecology units planning advice:

The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act - paragraph 40(1) of the act places a duty on local authorities and other public bodies to consider the conservation of biodiversity when carrying out all of their functions.