What does our planning team do?

The Planning Team at Surrey Wildlife Trust provides ecological advice to planning  departments in Surrey’s local authorities, as well as members of the public, on the impact of any planned development on biodiversity. It forms part of the Ecological Advice Function of the Trust and consists of:

  * The Planning Officers
 
  * Surrey Biodiversity Information Centre (SBIC)
 
It also calls on the services of the Trust’s Consultancy Department as and when appropriate.  
 
The Planning Team contributes towards many of Surrey’s strategic documents, such as Core Strategies and Local Development Frameworks and responds to concerns raised by members of the public and Surrey Wildlife Trust.

What We Say

The Trust cannot object to every application that may impact on wildlife. Species such as foxes, grey squirrels, deer and rabbits, alien and/or very invasive plant species such as Himalayan balsam, rhododendron etc, whilst of value to local residents, are not rare or protected by legislation and do not constitute grounds for substantive objections. Some species are protected to a greater or lesser degree under wildlife legislation, and some habitats are less common in the county and need to be considered carefully in any response.

The Surrey Biodiversity Action Plan identifies habitats that are important in the county and we would object to proposals that destroy such habitats. Some species have full protection, including the habitat and the animal itself, others are protected from harm and killing, some just from sale.

Objecting to everything would remove all credibility and devalue our standing as advisors on nature conservation to the local authorities in Surrey.

Where we cannot be directly involved in a planning issue we often help local residents by advising them how best to deal with the planning system and to represent their local wildlife.