All Local Planning Authorities in Warwickshire have a service level agreement with WCC Ecological Services for the provision of specialist ecological advice to inform their development control decisions. This includes:
- North Warwickshire Borough
- Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough
- Rugby Borough
- Stratford-on-Avon District
- Warwick District
The planning advice provided accords with Local Plan policies and strategies, our statutory Biodiversity Duty (under the NERC Act 2006 which was strengthened by the Environment Act 2021), national guidance provided via the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and statutory requirements including the Environment Act (2021).
The Local Planning Authorities have established agreements with WCC Ecological Services to provide a pre-application advice service to applicants which is subject to a fee payable to ‘Warwickshire County Council’. We can offer advice on the following:
- if the application site is subject to any statutory or non-statutory nature conservation or geological designation.
- whether there are any records of protected species or species of principal conservation importance that you may need to consider as part of the application, including the need for specialist surveys.
- if there are any other ecological matters you will need to consider.
- whether there will be a requirement to address mandatory biodiversity net gain as a result of the proposed development.
- Reviewing ecological reports to determine if these are sufficient.
- Undertaking a site visit to inform our recommendations.
Ecological Advice Trigger Lists
To help you decide if ecological advice is required or not we have developed two trigger lists. One for Householder applications and one for non-householder:
These sheets provide you with a guide as to whether you are likely to need this service or not depending upon the type and extent of development you are looking to undertake. Should you wish to discuss an application with us please call 01926 418060.
Please consider discussing with your ecological consultant the potential benefits of the pre-application advice service depending on the complexity of your development site. For further information see Planning Ecology.
Please note: Planning applications may not be validated if it is considered an ecological assessment or advice is required and it has not been submitted as part of the application.
How to apply for ecological pre-app advice
To submit a pre-application request, please read the pre-application advice sheet below, which is full of helpful tips to help us provide you with accurate advice.
Ecology advice sheet (PDF, 267 KB)
Plans and photos should be submitted with a pre-application request form relevant to your build (Non-Householder, Householder and Listed Building). See links below as well as pre-application fees and payment methods.
- Request form for Ecological Discretionary Pre-application Advice Service - all non-householder applications (PDF, 212 KB)
- Request form for Ecological Discretionary Pre-application Advice Service - householder (PDF, 371 KB)
- Request form for Pre Application Ecological Planning Advice - listed building (PDF, 211 KB)
Please submit all relevant documents to planningecology@warwickshire.gov.uk.
Pre-application fees and payment methods
| Development type | Site visit plus written advice | Written advice | Follow-up requests and written advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major developments (10+, 1000m2 or more floor space or development on sites 1ha or larger) | £1512 | £1152 | £95 per hour |
| Minor Development (6-9 dwelling 500 – 999 m2 floor space or development on sites 0.5 – .99ha) | £508 | £254 | |
| Minor Developments (2-5 dwellings up to 499m2 floor space or development on sites up to .49ha) | £382 | £191 | |
| Minor Developments (1 dwelling) | £159 | £95 | |
| Householder (extensions, roof conversions etc) and Listed Building Advice | £128 | £64 | |
| Express service householder only (response in 5 working days instead of 15 working days) Householder (extensions, roof conversions etc) and Listed Building Advice | £256 | £128 | |
| Single Issue service (bats, great crested newts, BNG) | £190 | £95 | |
| Agricultural Buildings (any floor space excluding dwellings) | £162 | £54 | |
| Revision to permitted schemes | Charges as above | ||
All costs are inclusive of VAT
Payment Methods
- Gov.uk payments service - please tell us if the payment email address is different to that within the pre-application submission form.
- BACS - please added a site identifying reference if possible
- Cheques payable to Warwickshire County Council (please include with your submitted plans etc)
- Invoice available on request
Please note: payment will need to be received prior to any part of the service being started.
What happens next
On receipt of payment, we aim to provide you with our advice within 15 working days (subject to the arrangement of a site visit if one has been requested). A member of the team will be in contact with you. If you have not received a reply within this timescale, please do contact the team on planningecology@warwickshire.gov.uk or 01926 418060.
WCC Ecological Services contact details
Tel: 01926 418060
Email: planningecology@warwickshire.gov.uk