How will species constraints be managed without delaying delivery on your London site?
Our Species Action Plans. We define targeted actions to control risk, meet conditions, and keep projects moving.
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
Industry Leading Standard
We stay with you from first call through to submission.Â
If your London scheme affects habitats linked to protected or priority species, or if your ecology reports recommend species specific mitigation, a Species Action Plan may be required.Â
A Species Action Plan sets out what will be protected, what will change on the ground, and how the outcomes will be delivered and evidenced. It is the practical plan that helps your team avoid late restrictions, unclear conditions, and stop start delivery once permission is granted.Â
Across London, Species Action Plans are often requested where site context increases the likelihood of species constraints being material to planning and delivery.
These are the settings where London planners expect a clear delivery plan, not general wording.
Our Species Action Plans cover sites across London and surrounding areas. Suitable for residential, commercial and mixed use development, from small edge of village sites to multi plot delivery.Â
London planning authorities use Species Action Plans to meet duties under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the Habitats Regulations, the NERC Act 2006, and local plan biodiversity policies. Where species outcomes are vague, applications can pick up tighter conditions, extra rounds of review, and delays at discharge when the site team needs certainty the most.Â
A well scoped plan reduces that risk by turning policy and survey findings into actions a planning officer can sign off and a contractor can follow.Â
Species Action Plans in London are expected to translate survey findings into clear, enforceable action. We scope plans to the species and risks actually present, avoid unnecessary complexity, and set out measures that planners and contractors can follow with confidence.
Every Species Action Plan in London is tailored to the site. Key deliverables include:
Integration with wider ecology. Alignment with PEAs, Habitat Action Plans, BNG strategies or HMMPs where required, so documents support each other rather than conflict.Â
Identification of target species and relevant legal or policy drivers.
Clear evaluation of how construction and occupation affect species.
Proportionate, species-specific mitigation and enhancement measures.
Defined success criteria and responsibilities agreed with planners.
Not sure what you’re expected to do for protected species in London?
Our Species Action Plan provides clarity, so nothing is left open to interpretation.
A Species Action Plan, or SAP, is a detailed ecological document that explains how specific species will be protected, mitigated, and enhanced during development. In London, SAPs are often needed where protected or priority species are identified through survey work and planning authorities require clear ecological measures to support decision making.
A SAP is usually required when ecological surveys show that development could affect protected species through demolition, site clearance, vegetation removal, land use change, or related construction works. In London, planning applications are handled through the relevant London planning authority, with strategic schemes also capable of referral to the Mayor through the Greater London Authority planning process.
London is highly urbanised, but it still supports significant biodiversity across parks, rivers, canals, railway corridors, brownfield land, mature trees, and older buildings. The Greater London Authority also recognises London priority species, which is why SAPs can play an important role in showing how ecological impacts will be properly addressed within urban development.
Habitats that often lead to SAP requirements in London include brownfield sites, ponds, canals, riverside corridors, mature trees, parks, grassland, green roofs and walls in some schemes, and buildings with bat roost potential. The exact trigger depends on the ecological survey findings and the type of development proposed. This habitat mix is a reason biodiversity remains a material planning issue across London.
SAPs in London frequently relate to bats, breeding birds, badgers, reptiles, amphibians, and other species identified through site specific survey work. The precise species focus will vary by borough, site context, and habitat type, but the Mayor’s published priority species work shows that London has a recognised biodiversity framework beyond purely national designations.
A planning ready SAP will usually include a summary of survey findings, an explanation of likely impacts, species specific mitigation measures, compensation proposals where needed, biodiversity enhancement opportunities, and a clear implementation and monitoring framework. This helps ensure the document is practical, proportionate, and suitable for planning purposes across London authorities.
A SAP gives planning officers a clear explanation of how species issues will be handled before, during, and after development. That can reduce uncertainty, improve the quality of the ecological submission, and help applications progress where protected species are a material consideration. This is especially useful in London, where local authority review sits alongside wider strategic planning oversight on certain schemes.
No. Smaller developments can also require a SAP if protected species are present or likely to be affected. Works to existing buildings, infill plots, roof level alterations, redevelopment sites, and land close to suitable habitat can all trigger the need for species specific mitigation where ecological risk exists. London’s planning authorities each maintain their own planning search systems, reflecting how these requirements can arise across a wide range of project types.
A SAP should be prepared by a qualified ecologist with suitable experience in protected species, mitigation design, and planning policy. This helps ensure the plan is technically robust, proportionate to the site, and capable of meeting Local Planning Authority expectations, whether the application is reviewed solely at borough level or also through the Mayor’s planning process for strategic schemes.
Species Action Plans may be required by London planning authorities across the capital, including Greater London Authority planning functions for referable schemes: https://www.london.gov.uk, City of London Corporation: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk, and borough councils such as Hammersmith and Fulham: https://www.lbhf.gov.uk. The Greater London Authority also maintains a dedicated page linking to London’s planning authorities and their planning application search pages.
