Form

Method statement to support a mitigation licence application

Show what impact an activity will have on European protected species and whether their favourable conservation status will be maintained.

• From: Natural England and Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
• Published: 6 October 2014
• Last updated: 10 October 2022 — See all updates

Applies to England

Documents

Method statement to support a mitigation licence application for European protected species (A12-2)

MS Word Document, 84.6 KB

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Details

The method statement is used by Natural England to make sure that the proposed work will not have a harmful effect on the European protected species (EPS) concerned.

This statement requires knowledge of the species and is usually completed by a consultant ecologist.

You need to include details of:

• the proposed work
• surveys conducted, with details of species numbers and how the species uses the site
• an assessment of the potential impacts of the proposed work
• mitigation plans (how you’ll reduce or cancel the damage if you can’t avoid affecting the species)
• compensation plans (how you’ll compensate for any unavoidable damage)
• timetable of work being licensed

Do not use this method statement for EPS species that have their own method statement form:

• bats
• dormice
• great crested newts

Use the EPS licensing policies

As part of your mitigation licence application, you may be able to use the EPS licensing policies to:

• reduce the level of survey you need to carry out
• reduce the mitigation requirements
• improve flexibility on where you create habitats as a compensation measure

Find out when and how to use European protected species policies to benefit EPS.

Published 6 October 2014
Last updated 10 October 2022 + show all updates

1. 10 October 2022

   Updated the method statement template to reflect that it now covers derogations under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended).

2. 14 January 2022

   Added a section on how to use European protected species (EPS) policies to benefit EPS as part of your mitigation licence application.

3. 6 October 2014

   First published.