Focused ecological strategies that align your development with biodiversity policy, protect key habitats and keep projects compliant across the UK.
If your site supports protected or priority species, your planning authority may require a Species Action Plan (SAP).
These plans set out targeted actions that protect species, demonstrate legal compliance and show measurable biodiversity improvements within your scheme.
Handled early, a SAP helps you satisfy planning conditions, avoid reactive mitigation, and build biodiversity gain into design rather than retrofit it later.
A SAP is a structured plan describing how development activity will protect, manage and enhance populations of specific species on-site or nearby.
It combines ecological evidence, proportionate measures and monitoring proposals to satisfy both Environment Act 2021 and NPPF Section 15 expectations. Our ecologists follow CIEEM standards, using actions mapped directly to your programme milestones.
These indicators suggest your site might require more than a basic walkover and may attract LPA scrutiny:
When these triggers appear, preparing a SAP before submission keeps ecological obligations manageable and proportional.
We keep guidance clear and planning-ready — supporting predictable project delivery.
| Service Component | Purpose | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Species Review | Identify target species and ecological context | Defined scope for actions |
| Impact Assessment | Evaluate risks to populations | Evidence for proportionate response |
| Mitigation Design | Develop avoidance and reduction measures | Legal and planning compliance |
| Enhancement Strategy | Add long-term biodiversity value | Quantifiable uplift for BNG |
| Implementation Plan | Set methods, timing and responsibility | Predictable delivery sequence |
| Monitoring Framework | Track effectiveness over time | Transparent reporting for LPAs |
| Reporting & Sign-off | Produce planning-ready documentation | Defensible submission evidence |
Our process is designed to remove friction and keep decisions moving.
We assess survey findings and planning context to confirm target species and required outcomes.
Mitigation and enhancement measures are developed alongside your design and construction phases.
Actions are integrated with site works and tracked against planning conditions.
Species Action Plans can be produced year-round once baseline data is available.
However, the surveys that inform them such as bat activity, great crested newt, reptile, or bird surveys are strictly seasonal
PRA: Year-round Emergence: May - August
eDNA April – June / activity mid-March – June
Only April, May and September
Year-round for scoping; nesting activity March–August
April - September
Securing your SAP early allows results from these seasonal surveys to flow straight into planning documentation and keep your schedule predictable.
Under the NERC Act 2006 (S41) and local biodiversity policies, LPAs must ensure that developments deliver tangible benefits for priority species.
A clear SAP demonstrates that responsibility has been met in a measurable, transparent way. Satisfying planning conditions and policy duties under NPPF and Environment Act 2021.
Without one, projects often face:
A well-built SAP prevents that cycle by giving planning officers certainty upfront.
Act early and your evidence works for you, not against you.
Each ProHort appraisal follows CIEEM guidance, Natural England standards and UKHab classification, producing reports LPAs recognise immediately.
Our planning-ready SAP includes:
You’ll know exactly what each measure achieves, how it will be delivered and how to evidence success at sign-off.
A well-timed SAP:
Clear actions. Predictable delivery. Verified outcomes.
Its purpose is simple: provide clarity for planners, confidence for contractors and predictability for your programme.
Get the ecological clarity that keeps your design on track.
Phone: 0800 494 7479
Email: [email protected]
We cover many areas across England. Click below to find out more.
A Species Action Plan is a structured ecological document that sets out how specific species will be protected, mitigated for, and enhanced within a development. It provides clear, practical measures to ensure species are safeguarded while allowing development to proceed in line with planning policy.
A Species Action Plan is typically required where ecological surveys identify protected or notable species that may be affected by development. Local Planning Authorities often request a SAP to demonstrate how impacts will be properly managed before granting permission or discharging conditions.
Species Action Plans are commonly required for protected and priority species such as bats, great crested newts, reptiles, breeding birds, and other species of principal importance. The requirement depends on survey findings and the level of risk posed by the development.
A planning compliant SAP will typically include baseline survey data, an assessment of impacts, and detailed mitigation and enhancement measures. It also sets out timing restrictions, habitat proposals, and where required, monitoring and management commitments.
A Species Action Plan provides clear evidence that ecological impacts have been properly assessed and addressed. It gives the Local Planning Authority confidence that species will be protected in accordance with legislation, helping to avoid delays or refusals.
No. A Species Action Plan focuses on individual species and how they are protected or enhanced. Biodiversity Net Gain assesses habitat value across a site using a metric approach. Both may be required, but they serve different purposes within the planning process.
Where protected species are present or likely to be affected, development is unlikely to proceed without appropriate mitigation. A Species Action Plan is often essential to demonstrate compliance with wildlife legislation and planning policy.
The primary objectives are to avoid harm to species, reduce impacts where avoidance is not possible, and deliver measurable ecological enhancements. The plan ensures species are considered at every stage of the development process.
Mitigation measures vary depending on the species but may include timing works outside sensitive periods, retaining or creating habitats, installing features such as bat boxes or reptile refugia, and implementing precautionary working methods.
In many cases, yes. Monitoring may be required to confirm that mitigation and enhancement measures are working effectively. This can form part of planning condition compliance and may need to be reported back to the Local Planning Authority.
The duration depends on the species and the scale of impact. Some measures apply during construction only, while others may require ongoing management or monitoring over several years to ensure successful outcomes.
A Species Action Plan must be prepared by a qualified ecologist with relevant survey experience. This ensures the document is technically robust, policy compliant, and suitable for submission as part of a planning application.
Mitigation focuses on avoiding or reducing harm to species, while enhancement aims to improve habitats and provide additional ecological value. A well prepared SAP will deliver both, ensuring compliance and long term biodiversity benefit.
Local Planning Authorities assess whether the proposed measures are proportionate, deliverable, and compliant with legislation and policy. Requirements are often set out in local validation checklists and national planning guidance such as:
https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/biodiversity-and-planning
