An article in the Guardian claimed that research exampled that just 0.8% and 2.48% of 17,433 planning appeals in 2024 concerned newts and bats, respectively. This helped form the conclusion by wildlife groups that planning delays were not because of bats and newts.

This is wrong because appeals are not the right measurement to inform this conclusion and because it shows a lack of understanding about the development and planning process.

Wrong delay data analysed

First and foremost, analysing appeals is a flawed justification for whether these and other species delay development because they ignore the most important part of a planning application, which is due diligence.

Planning applications are submitted with the appropriate species surveys and for bats, preliminary surveys on habitats and evidence can be done all year round but surveys for maternity roosts are typically permitted between May and August.

The typical survey timings are:

Preliminary Roost Assessment (PRA) – All year round

Emergence (and Re-entry) Surveys: Typically May to August, with up to three surveys required

For exceptional years, Emergence (and Re-entry) Surveys can include April and October

Hibernation surveys: Between December and February

Activity surveys – Conducted April and October at night

The most important survey is the Emergence (and Re-entry) survey and if bats are discovered as the planning application progresses, there is a strong chance missing the tight five month survey window and so having to wait a minimum of seven months for a survey to be conducted and up to eight weeks for reports to be discharged.

Surveys are typically valid for 24 months; however, Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) often require assessments from the most recent survey season. The planning process might also take longer than 24 months, making some surveys invalid.

Great Crested Newts

The GCN benefits from a District Licensing Scheme, where risk zone maps help measure development impact on the species and eDNA testing may need to be conducted to verify presence. If the impact is not high, habitat creation is funded by conservation payments.

When a district license is not available, a Mitigation License is required.

The District Licensing Scheme was directly implemented to reduce planning delays and increase GCN habitats because the minimum of four site visits between March to June, with half of those being in mid-April and mid-May, was creating considerable planning delay. And still is!

eDNA analysis has been a major benefit to rolling out district licensing but so was the desire to map the GCN. A desire which any person or organisation desiring to protect, support and advance species should rally behind.

Building in Biodiversity

The House Builders Association (HBA), the housing division of the NFB has been at the forefront of campaigning for species mapping and conservation through its work on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). From our work on the GCN, we recognised species location data was not great and innovation in analysis very immature. We therefore made this a core element in how BNG levies should be spent, so that we knew which habitats were most beneficial for wildlife and where they should go.

Mapping and understanding wildlife on a local, regional and national level would ensure BNG is more focused on biodiversity outcomes, than merely habitat creation. Habitats which may offer little or no value to some wildlife. And some LPA’s already do some of this; for example, prescribing lighting levels, requiring bat boxes pre-development and within the fabric of new buildings. All solutions and strategies that should be within the BNG calculation; though this is getting off the point and few wildlife charities have publicly supported our efforts.

Do bats and newts delay developments

Any research claiming bats and newts delay development is misinformation, and in some cases disinformation.

Planning requires surveys, survey periods are restricted, local planning politics can invalidate expert surveys and new evidence can rightly require further surveying. This means a bat or newt might delay a development by two years before a formal application is submitted and once submitted, the same period again should new evidence be found, or survey requirements made outside a practicable surveyable period.

A shortage of licensed surveyors is even used as a sales tactic for ecologists, who recommend they are engaged as early as possible so surveys can be timed appropriately.

Bats, newts and other species can and do cause considerable planning delays, therefore rather than misinforming the debate, if we want to prioritise nature, time should be spent understanding how and whether the Nature Restoration Fund can reduce those impacts and better wildlife outcomes.

Rico Wojtulewicz, Head of Policy and Market Insight