Preliminary Ecological Appraisal

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 A Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) is normally the first stage in any site assessment. It has three main elements: an ecological desk study; a habitat survey; and a written assessment.

The PEA has several aims. These are: 

• To identify likely ecological constraints and features of biodiversity value present in and around the development site;  
• To inform the design of the development such that impacts on features of biodiversity importance can be avoided or minimised; 
• To inform the scope of any necessary further ecological surveys and assessments that are likely to be required as part of the planning application process.

Where the preliminary ecological appraisal identifies specific issues such as the likely presence of protected species, or priority species, further surveys are likely to be recommended. These surveys provide information on which species are present, facilitating a more detailed assessment of the legal and planning policy issues and the potential impacts of the development on particular species.

Ecological desk study

The basic task for an ecological desk study is to gather together any existing data on designated sites, habitats, and species of conservation concern from within and around the development site. Nowadays, there are online sources of information as well as that held by biological records centres and published in books and local planning documents.

The desk study can provide valuable information on the likely ecological issues that will be encountered during the development process and is a relatively inexpensive exercise to undertake. However, much of the data obtained through desk studies will be incidental records provided by the general public or volunteers, rather than the result of any systematic survey. Therefore, the desk study on its own is unlikely to provide sufficient information to complete the ecological assessment. Therefore it is usually undertaken as one element of a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal.

Habitat survey

The habitat survey provides a map of the habitats present on the site and a description of each habitat, including a plant species list. Each habitat is also assessed for its potential to support protected and priority species. Species of fauna observed during the survey are also recorded.

Habitat surveys can be conducted all year round; however, the optimum time for undertaking the survey would be between April and September. If the survey is undertaken outside this period, it is quite likely that a follow-up botanical survey will be required.

Although it is the most widely used in Britain, the Phase 1 habitat classification system is not the only classification system that can be used for the PEA. An alternative is the UKHabs classification system, which is used for Biodiversity Net Gain calculations and is our preferred method of classifying habitat, although if continuing work from previous ecologists we are equally comfortable using the Phase 1 classification. 

Written Assessment

The results of a PEA will be presented in a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal Report (PEAR).  The primary audience for a PEAR is the client or developer and relevant members of the project team, such as the architect, planning consultant, and landscape architect. It is normally produced to inform a developer (or other clients), and their design team, about the key ecological constraints and opportunities associated with a project, possible mitigation requirements, and any detailed further surveys required to inform an Ecological Impact  Assessment (EcIA), if required. 

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