Do you need a planning-focused badger survey and sett assessment across Kent?
We can offer badger surveys backed by clear guidance, proportionate methods, and practical support to keep your project moving on schedule.
Calls answered in 2 rings, emails replied to within the hour.
Clear guidance before you commit.
Working in partnership with clients to ensure planning approval first time
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We stay with you from first call through to submission.
Kent’s varied landscape, from rolling chalk downland and ancient woodlands to hedgerow-lined farmland, river valleys, and coastal fringes, offers ideal habitat for badgers. As a result, thorough badger surveying is essential for any development or land management project within the county.
A badger survey assesses an area to determine whether badgers are present, and whether they could be affected by development. Ecologists look for setts, foraging signs, and activity patterns, sometimes using motion cameras or tracking methods, to understand their distribution. The findings help ensure that construction or land changes avoid disturbing badgers and comply with planning regulations.
Certain types of land and habitat across Kent may trigger the need for specialist badger assessment. Typical examples include:
Farmland with established hedgerows in the Maidstone area
Mature woodland edges and traditional coppice close to Canterbury
Pasture, orchards, and lightly wooded fields around Ashford
Green corridors, embankments, and vegetated urban fringes within Medway
Low-lying wet ground, riverbanks, and drainage features near Tonbridge
Large landscaped estates, open parkland, and recreational grounds in the Sevenoaks district
We support projects across Maidstone, Canterbury, Ashford, Medway, Tonbridge, Sevenoaks, and Dover, as well as surrounding areas.
Kent planning authorities require badger survey evidence where setts or suitable habitat are present to ensure development complies with the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 and national planning policy. Without early, proportionate surveys, applications are often delayed by validation queries, additional planning conditions, or seasonal restrictions, which can disrupt site programmes and, in some cases, necessitate redesign.
Our specialist ecology team carries out a Badger Survey to identify setts, activity, and potential risk. You receive a clear, LPA-ready report detailing any required mitigation and timing measures, helping your project stay on schedule and compliant.
We produce clear, planning-ready badger assessments that typically include:
Assessing how proposals may affect badger activity
Mapping and classifying setts and recording use
Recommending proportionate mitigation
Providing on-site guidance for contractors
Advising on licensing where required
Our reports are widely accepted by Kent planning authorities, helping projects remain compliant and on schedule.
Send your site details and programme. We confirm the correct level of survey.
Walkovers, sett assess-ments, camera deployment and activity checks.
Planning-ready reports with impact assessment, mitigation options and timelines for site teams.
Only if needed. PEA, EIA, and Protected Species surveys
Need a badger survey in Kent? Let’s confirm your site’s requirements and keep your project on track.
Yes. Surveys should be carried out by a qualified ecologist with demonstrated experience in badger ecology and survey methods. This ensures compliance with best-practice standards and that findings are accepted by planning authorities.
For planning checks and guidance:
Yes, they can be done throughout the year. However, visibility tends to be better and signs more obvious in seasons when vegetation is less dense (commonly late winter to early spring, or autumn).
Not necessarily. If a sett (active or likely occupied) lies within the construction footprint or could be disturbed by works, a mitigation strategy is required which may involve buffers, adjusted working methods, or even a licence application. With appropriate mitigation or licensing, development can still proceed.
A survey is generally needed if the site has suitable badger habitat (woodland, hedgerows, scrub, river corridors, farmland, green-space, etc.) or there are records/historical evidence of badger presence nearby.
