Statutory guidance

Water voles: licence to intentionally damage or destroy water vole burrows by displacement (CL31)

Updated 1 January 2024

Applies to England

Class licence CL31: intentional disturbance of water voles and damage or destruction of water vole burrows by means of displacement

Overview

This licence permits intentional damage or destruction of water vole burrows, and/or disturbance to water voles occupying burrows, by use of the mitigation method known as ‘displacement’. This method is used to displace water voles away from areas where potentially harmful operations are planned to take place.

This licence permits the use of displacement as a technique to facilitate certain works that:

• preserve public health or safety
• prevent serious damage
• are for reasons of overriding public interest

For the purposes of this licence, ‘displacement’ means removal of vegetation followed, where appropriate, by a destructive search of the burrows, where the intention is to displace water voles from their burrows. Water draw-down or removal may be used in parallel with vegetation removal, where appropriate.

This licence is not intended to cover the risk of incidental disturbance or damage resulting from other activities, such as routine mowing of water course banks. It is Natural England’s view that such operations can proceed lawfully under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) section 10(3)(c) defence “…an incidental result of a lawful operation…”, so long as works are justified and undertaken in accordance with best practice that minimises the risk of any adverse impact on water voles.

This licence may only be relied upon where mitigation works include creation or enhancement of alternative compensatory habitat, such that there will be no net loss for water voles.

Only appropriately trained and/or experienced ecologists are eligible to register to use this licence.

Registration: Anyone wishing to use this licence must first apply to Natural England to be registered. The registration process is explained in the Information and Advice notes i - m.

Recording and reporting: There are data recording and annual reporting requirements.

Reference: WML – CL31.

Legislation

Statutes Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) (‘the 1981 Act’) Sections. This licence is issued under sections 16(3)(f), (h), (j) and 16(5).

Licence and conditions

Valid for the period: 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 (inclusive).

Area valid in: All counties of England (landward of the mean low water mark).

This licence can only be used:

• to preserve public health or safety
• to prevent serious damage to livestock, animal feed, crops, growing timber, fisheries and any other property
• for reasons of overriding public interest

What this licence permits

Subject to all the terms and conditions of this licence and solely for the purpose(s) stated above, this licence permits Registered Persons, Accredited Agents and their Assistants to intentionally disturb water vole(s) (Arvicola amphibius/terrestris) whilst occupying a structure or place of shelter or protection, or to intentionally damage, obstruct or destroy such a structure or place and, to temporarily take water voles whilst undertaking these activities, by means of:

• removal of vegetation back to bare earth
• water draw-down or removal
• carrying out a destructive search of water vole burrows after an appropriate monitoring period following vegetation removal
• destroying water vole burrows

Who can use this licence

This licence can only be used by Registered Persons* and their Accredited Agents* and Assistants* except those convicted on or after 1 January 2010 of a wildlife crime* unless, in respect of that offence, either:

• they are a rehabilitated person for the purposes of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and their conviction is treated as spent, or
• a court has made an order discharging them absolutely.) Any application by a person to whom this exclusion applies for an individual licence will be considered on its merits

*: See definitions.

Definitions used in this licence

“Registered Person” is a person who has successfully registered to use this licence.

“Accredited Agent” is a suitably trained and experienced person (for example, contractor) who is able to carry out work under a licence without the personal supervision of the Registered Person, in accordance with Condition 1. If required, the Registered Person can authorise Accredited Agents to undertake certain activities under this licence, such as supervising vegetation removal following appropriate training and instruction.

“Assistant” is a person assisting a Registered Person or Accredited Agent. Assistants are only authorised to act under this licence whilst they are under the direct supervision of the Registered Person or Accredited Agent.

“Wildlife crime” means any offence under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, the Deer Act 1991, the Hunting Act 2004, the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996, the Animal Welfare Act 2006, the Protection of Animals Act 1911 (all as amended) or the Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019.

Licence conditions

1. To use this licence you must either:
   
   a. be a Registered Person (see Information and Advice notes i - m)
   
   b. be authorised as an Accredited Agent (see Definitions) by a Registered Person, in which case you are only permitted to act under the authority of this licence if you are in possession of a letter signed by the Registered Person appointing you by name as a duly Accredited Agent for the purpose of this licence. Accredited Agents shall carry a copy of the said letter when acting under the licence and shall produce it to any police or Natural England officer on request, or
   
   c. be authorised by a Registered Person or their Accredited Agent to act as an Assistant (see Definitions), in which case you may act under the authority of this licence so long as you are doing so under the direct supervision of a Registered Person or their Accredited Agent
   
   
2. The Registered Person is responsible for all activities carried out under this licence, including activities carried out by their Accredited Agents and their Assistants.
   
   
3. If the work requires planning or other consent, this licence can only be used once this consent is in place.
   
   
4. This licence can only be relied upon where there is no alternative but to displace the water voles and destroy their burrows; such as when alternative measures that do not require a licence have been considered and proved to be either impractical or impossible.
   
   
5. All relevant animal welfare legislation must be complied with at all times, including the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 (see Information and Advice note h).
   
   Removal of vegetation including marginal vegetation (with water draw-down where needed) to displace water voles
   
   
6. Before vegetation cutting takes place, the locations of known water vole burrows must be identified (see Information and Advice note a).
   
   
7. The removal of vegetation including marginal vegetation (see Information and Advice note b) must take place and be completed during the period 15 February to 15 April and 15 September to 31 October, inclusive. In the counties of Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lancashire the spring period of initial vegetation removal (starting 15 February) can be extended until 30 April if this is necessary to ensure displacement only takes place in suitable weather conditions and when there is sufficient forage available to support the displaced water voles (see Information and Advice note c).
   
   
8. Cutting of vegetation in accordance with Condition 7 must be limited to a continuous length of bank not exceeding 50 metres (see Information and Advice note d), and where there is suitable water vole habitat in adjoining lengths of bank or in other immediately adjacent areas, which are unaffected by the works. There must be a gap of at least 500 m in length between cuts on the same bank.
   
   
9. Vegetation cutting can take place concurrently on both banks of the same watercourse, not exceeding 50m in length on each bank, where this is required for the work, or to increase the likelihood of water voles being displaced (see Information and Advice notes c and d). The unaffected habitat must be sufficient in terms of both quantity and quality to accommodate the displaced animals and those outside the footprint of the works.
   
   
10. Removal of vegetation including marginal vegetation after the period specified in Condition 7 must only take place where the vegetation has initially been removed between 15 February and 15 April (30 April for northern counties listed in Condition 7), or between 15 September and 31 October and where it is necessary to maintain a previously cut area. Any re-growth must be removed and maintained as short as possible, through cutting or herbicide use, at a height no greater than 10cm (4 inches) above ground level.
    
    
11. No subsequent attempt at displacement of water voles may be undertaken within the unaffected adjacent habitat for a period of 12 months.
    
    
12. No subsequent attempt at displacement of water voles may be undertaken within the unaffected adjacent habitat where this will result in the permanent loss of a continuous length of bank exceeding 50 metres.
    
    
13. All vegetation on the bank face within the working area must be cut, along with an appropriate ‘buffer’ around it (see Information and Advice note d). Any emergent aquatic vegetation located along the water margin should also be cut.
    
    
14. Cut vegetation, weed cuttings and arisings need to be raked off from the cut area, and must not be deposited or burned on the bank where there are retained water vole refuge areas or be left where they will prevent access to water vole burrows.
    
    
15. Where water draw-down / removal is to be used in parallel with vegetation cutting, this must be limited to the same length of habitat specified in Conditions 8, and the same time of year specified in Condition 7.
    
    Destructive search of burrows
    
    
16. Following vegetation removal in accordance with Conditions 6 to 13, the cut area must be left intact, for a minimum period of five consecutive days and a maximum period of ten consecutive days before a destructive search is carried out.
    
    
17. Prior to undertaking the destructive search, the cut area must be surveyed for evidence of the continued presence of water voles. Monitoring can include the use of an endoscope. Where this survey records no evidence that the burrows in the cut area are still occupied by water voles, each burrow affected must be carefully excavated and searched, and destroyed once the search is completed. This will minimise the risk that any water voles remaining in burrows will be harmed (see Information and Advice note f).
    
    
18. A destructive search is not required, if it is judged that it is neither safe nor technically feasible to do so (for example, due to engineering constraints such as destabilisation of the bank that would occur as a result of the destructive search, presence of a road or other permanent structure, or no safe access from which to undertake a destructive search) or in sections of the banks that will be unaffected by the works and where burrows can be retained. Justification for not undertaking a destructive search or modifying the methodology to account for any of the above constraints must be provided in the annual report for this licence.
    
    
19. Any water voles found during excavation of burrows must either be allowed to escape to an adjacent refuge area or be captured and kept in a suitable animal container, with suitable bedding material and food provided (see Information and Advice note c), for release at an adjacent refuge area on the same day.
    
    
20. Works should commence within 5 days of completing the destructive search, where this is not possible water voles must be deterred from return to the area by:
    
    - in-filling the channel immediately following the destructive search
    
    - maintaining the works area as bare ground until the works have taken place
    
    This is likely to require repeat scraping /smoothing of the banks:
    
    - covering the ground with a suitable matting to ensure that vegetation regeneration cannot occur
    
    - installing suitable water vole resistant fencing to prevent water voles returning
    
    In these situations, the site will require continued monitoring to ensure that water voles do not return prior to the work starting.
    
    
21. This licence can only be relied upon where there is a no net loss for water voles. This means that suitable habitat must be created, or existing habitat enhanced, within the range of the affected population. The result of this must be the reasonable expectation that there will be the same or a greater extent of good quality water vole habitat after the completion of the works than there was before the works began (see Information and Advice note g).
    
    Recording and reporting requirements
    
    
22. The Registered Person must maintain a record of all activities carried out under the authority of this licence. This record must include the information required for each annual report to Natural England as specified in Annex A. Records are to be kept for at least 24 months after the licence expires and are to be made available for inspection by Natural England at any reasonable time.
    
    
23. The Registered Person must send an annual report to Natural England Wildlife Licensing (contact details below) even if the licence is not used. CL31 Report of Action and Monitoring Form must be submitted for the period from 1 January to 31 December, inclusive, by no later than 31 January of the following year.
    
    
24. If Conditions 22 and 23 are not met then the Registered Person will, by default, no longer be considered registered to act under this licence.
    
    
25. The Registered Person must inform Natural England of any breach of this licence as soon as practicable after it becomes known to them.

Important

This licence authorises acts that would otherwise be offences under the legislation referred to above. Failure to comply with its terms and conditions:

i. may be an offence against the 1981 Act or mean that the licence cannot be relied upon and an offence could therefore be committed. The maximum penalty available for an offence under the 1981 Act is, at the time of the issue of this licence, an unlimited fine and/or a six month custodial sentence

ii. may result in your permission to use this licence being withdrawn. Natural England will inform any person or organisation whose permission to use this licence is withdrawn in writing. This sanction may be applied to other similar licences, and

iii. may mean that you are not able to rely on this licence as a defence in respect to the prohibitions within the Animal Welfare Act 2006 or the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996.

If the activity that you wish to undertake is not covered by this licence, or if you are unable to comply with any of the terms and conditions which apply to the use of this licence, then you will need to apply to Natural England for an individual licence.

This licence is not a consent for the purposes of Part II of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) in respect to SSSIs. It is your responsibility to get consent or assent if required before this licence can be used on any SSSI. See Advice notes (t to v) for further information.

Issued by and on behalf of Natural England on 1 January 2024.

Information and advice specific to this licence

a. Before carrying out works the site should be surveyed by a suitably competent person to check for evidence of occupied water vole burrows. Areas where burrows are located should be identified, in accordance with Condition 6, either on the ground or on a site plan, in a way which enables the persons carrying out the work to clearly identify their location.

b. Ideally, all vegetation in the cut areas will be removed to bare ground (see Conditions 8 and 9). Cutting of vegetation should include marginal vegetation as this can provide refuge for water voles if not removed.

c. Dean, M., Strachan, R., Gow, D. and Andrews, R. (2016). ‘The Water Vole Mitigation Handbook Mammal Society Mitigation Guidance Series’. Eds. Fiona Mathews and Paul Chanin, The Mammal Society, Southampton, should be referred to for guidance on best practice for mitigating the impact on water voles on sites affected by works. In particular, persons acting under this licence should take account of best practice guidance and factors, such as local climate and prevailing weather conditions, which may influence the optimum time for carrying out displacement.

d. The area within which vegetation cutting or water draw-down / removal is undertaken should include the entire working area plus an appropriate buffer area around it (either side of the working area, and back from the bank top). The buffer should comprise at least an additional 3m either side of the working area and on the bank top (at least 3m back from the bank), where suitable habitat for water voles is present.

e. Before commencing work, the presence of other protected species, including: white-clawed crayfish, certain reptiles and badgers, should be considered. Given the timing of actions permitted by this licence, a particular account needs to be made of the bird nesting season.

Monitoring

f. Where monitoring does find fresh signs of water vole activity, the monitoring period may need to be extended and vegetation cutting or water draw down/removal repeated. If there are still signs that water voles are present, a destructive search by hand should be carried out and water voles allowed to escape or captured temporarily. Captured water voles must be kept in an appropriate animal container with suitable bedding material and food provided (see Information and Advice note c), for release at an adjacent refuge area on the same day. Trapping water voles will require a separate, individual licence.

No net loss

g. Compensation measures are expected to result in no net loss in the amount of habitat available to the water vole population. If your work will result in a net loss of available water vole habitat, you must deliver no overall net loss. To do this, you could improve the connections between water vole colonies. For temporary works, an acceptable and proportionate way to demonstrate no net loss would be to restore the affected section to improve habitat quality.

Relevent legislation and good practice

h. Persons acting under a licence should have regard to legislation and good practice relevant to the action(s) undertaken, including animal welfare and the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (2006 Act). It is an offence to cause any unnecessary suffering to an animal (including birds) under the control of man (section 4 of the 2006 Act). This applies to the humane dispatch of captured animals and the treatment of animals held in traps or nets, including decoy birds and non-target animals. For advice on the relevance of the 2006 Act to wildlife management please refer to the Natural England leaflet The Animal Welfare Act 2006: what it means for wildlife.

Registering to use this licence

i. Only Registered Persons, their Accredited Agents or persons directly supervised by a Registered Person or an Accredited Agent may act under this licence. Anyone seeking to become a Registered Person must apply to Natural England by email or post. Applications require supporting evidence indicating appropriate knowledge and experience of the species covered by this licence and the management techniques permitted.

j. Once registered, a person is entitled to use this licence so long as they satisfy the licence’s terms and conditions; annual re-registration is not required. Failure to comply with the terms and conditions, including the recording and reporting requirements, will by default, render registration null and void. The annual reporting process is used to verify a person’s desire to remain registered.

k. It is the responsibility of Registered Persons to maintain their expertise at an appropriate level to act under this licence and it is also their responsibility to ensure that Accredited Agents and Assistants have appropriate training, experience and instruction, including in mitigation measures commonly employed, to act under this licence.

l. Anyone seeking to confirm whether a person is registered to use this licence should contact Natural England Wildlife Licensing.

m. A person’s registration may be revoked by Natural England, for example, if that person breaches the conditions of this licence. In these circumstances Natural England will normally give 28 days’ notice of our intention to revoke a person’s registration.

Information and advice for all class and general licences

General information

n. Natural England checks compliance with licences and the attached conditions. Where breaches are identified, these may be subject to enforcement action.

o. Ordinarily, licences will be reissued on 1 January each year. Please note, however, that they can be modified or revoked at any time by Natural England or the Secretary of State, but this will not be done unless there are good reasons for doing so. You are advised to check the terms and conditions of a licence prior to your first use of it each year in case of amendments.

p. The common name of the species given in a licence is included by way of guidance only; in the event of any dispute or proceedings, it is the scientific name of a species only that will be taken into account.

The limits of licences

q. Licences permit action only for the purposes specified on that licence.

r. Licences do not permit actions prohibited under any other legislation, nor do they confer any right of entry upon land.

s. Unless otherwise stated the provisions of Natural England licences only apply landward of the mean low water mark in England. The Marine Management Organisation is responsible for all licensing seaward of the mean low water mark.

Protected sites

t. You can search for and view details about all SSSIs by using Natural England’s Designated Sites system. The notification documents for each SSSI contain a list of operations that require Natural England’s prior consent. Owners and occupiers of land notified as SSSIs are required to give written notice to Natural England before either beginning any of these operations, or allowing someone else to carry out those operations. SSSI consent can only be given to a SSSI owner or occupier. It may be given with or without conditions, or in some cases, consent may not be granted. A similar process applies to public bodies and statutory undertakers (as defined under Section 28G of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended)) and this obligation applies even where the operations are carried out on land outside of the SSSI.

u. Please note that as the licensee you will not be able to undertake the licensed activity on a SSSI until the owner or occupier of the SSSI has applied for, and received, Natural England’s written SSSI consent. If you do so, you may be at risk of committing an offence. As the licensee, if you wish to exercise this licence on a SSSI you must contact the relevant owners or occupiers of the SSSI and ensure they give written notice to Natural England of their proposal to permit you to carry out licensed activity on their SSSI. You should wait until a SSSI consent decision has been received by the SSSI owner/occupier before you begin to exercise this licence on a SSSI. See GOV.UK for further information on how to get SSSI consent from Natural England.

v. In considering whether to issue consent or assent for activities likely to affect a SSSI that is a European Site, in other words a Special Protection Area (SPA) or Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Natural England will carry out a Habitats Regulations Assessment, as required by the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (as amended) (‘the Habitats Regulations’) to ensure there will be no adverse effects on the European Site.

Using and sharing your information

w. There is significant public interest in wildlife licensing and in those who benefit from receiving a wildlife licence. We may make information publicly available, for more information, please see our privacy notice.

Coronavirus - Best practice

To avoid transmitting COVID-19 from people to wild mammals, you should: stay at least 2 metres from live wild mammals at all times; only capture or handle live wild mammals if necessary. If you cannot follow these guidelines, then you should minimise the time spent in close proximity and handling mammals; limit the number of people that come into close proximity or handle mammals, and keep animals separate from other individuals as far as possible.

Persons acting under this licence should follow good hygiene practices, including wearing of disposable gloves, or clean and disinfected non-disposable gloves; wearing a face covering when handling and in close proximity to any mammal, and washing hands before and after close proximity or handling of any mammal. Face coverings, non-disposable gloves and overalls or other clothing should be washed / disinfected between uses when handling mammals.

You should not carry out activities under this licence if you feel unwell, test positive for COVID-19 or live with someone who has or might have COVID-19.

Any products used to clean and disinfect equipment should be safe for use where there could be contact with animals and used at an effective and safe dilution rate. ‘Safe4’ is considered to be an appropriate disinfectant for this purpose and is considered effective against the virus at a dilution of 1:50. Other products can be used to clean and disinfect equipment.

Contact Natural England for licensing enquiries

Telephone: 020 802 61089

Email: wildlife.scicons@naturalengland.org.uk

By post to:

Wildlife Licensing, Operations Delivery
Horizon House
Deanery Road
Bristol
BS1 5AH

For other enquiries use the Enquiry Service:

• Telephone; 0300 060 3900

• Email: enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk.

• Website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/natural-england

Annex A - Recording and reporting requirements

Records and reporting

The Registered Person must maintain a record of the following information for all displacement activities undertaken using this licence (this also includes works conducted by Accredited Agents and Assistants acting under their authority).

1. Maintaining registration
   
   To maintain your registration you are required to complete an annual report. The report will ask you to:
   
   a) confirm whether any works have been carried out in the preceding 12 months (nil returns are required).
   
   b) provide details of work for each location where the licence has been used.
   
   c) confirm whether you wish to continue to be registered
   
   Each Registered Person shall maintain a record, which must be kept for at least 24 months beyond the expiry date of this licence.
   
   
2. Submitting water vole observation information
   
   Records of water vole observations should be submitted to the relevant Local Records Centre (see below) for each site where the licence is used by 31 January each year.
   
   Find your nearest local record centre on the Association of Local Environmental Records Centres (ALERC) website.
   
   
3. Commercial confidentiality If you encounter difficulties releasing data due to client confidentiality restrictions then you are advised to remind your client that it is a condition of using this licence that licensed activities are reported. Furthermore, the licence may only be used if this condition is met and withholding information may lead to a licence breach.
   
   To help avoid such difficulties, it is recommended that your contractual terms and conditions make it clear that submitting records to Natural England and other bodies specified in licences is a legal requirement. If a client is not prepared to accept such terms and conditions then you may not use this licence. You may then have to apply for an individual licence.

WML-CL31 [version January 2024].