A European Protected Species Licence, or EPSL as they are commonly referred to, is essentially permission granted by a local governing body (such as Natural England or Natural Resources Wales), which gives the applicant permission to undertake an activity (such as damaging or destroying a bat roost), which would otherwise be a criminal offence. Licences are only issued once certain criteria have been met, such as sufficient survey efforts which provides robust data for a specific project. It is also required to demonstrate that actions are unavoidable or has overriding public interest. Detailed compensation will also need to be suggested and approved, in order to mitigate for the given circumstances.
Quantock Ecology submits numerous European Protected Species Licence (EPSL) applications each year, and is experienced in producing EPSL applications for species such as bats, badgers and dormice.
In certain circumstances, a bat mitigation licence may be suitable to be granted under a Bat Low Impact Class Licence (BLICL). Full details on the BLICL can be found here. A BLICL is a licence issued where a low number of common bat species is recorded, within no more than three roosting areas. These licences are issues FAST, (within 10 working days) and offer a more cost-effected solution to the requirement.
In order to produce a BLICL, the registered consultant must demonstrate a high standard of knowledge, experience and have produced a number of former licence applications in order to be able to produce these. Quantock Ecology is delighted to be able to offer this service to our clients, with Simon Pidgeon being one of Natural England’s registered consultant since the summer of 2018.
If you would like to discuss your requirements for a mitigation license application, please get in touch.