Beavers: advice for making planning decisions
How to assess a planning application when there are Eurasian beavers on or near a proposed development site.
Applies to England
This is Natural England’s ‘standing advice’ for beavers. It is a material planning consideration for local planning authorities (LPAs). You should take this advice into account when making planning decisions. It forms part of a collection of standing advice for protected species.
You should read this guidance alongside Protected species and development: advice for local planning authorities.
Following this advice:
- avoids the need to consult on the negative effects of planning applications on beavers in most cases
- can help you make decisions on development proposals
You may need a qualified ecologist with experience of beavers to advise you on the planning application and supporting evidence. Contact Natural England at beaverlicence@naturalengland.org.uk for advice and information about this.
How beavers are protected
Eurasian beavers are a European Protected Species (EPS) protected under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.
It is an offence to:
- deliberately kill, injure, disturb or capture them
- damage or destroy their breeding sites and resting places (including when beavers are not present)
- possess, control or transport them (or any part, alive or dead)
- sell, exchange or offer for sale or exchange
It is also an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to:
- use any trap or snare for the purpose of killing, taking or restraining beavers
- set a trap or snare in place to cause injury to a beaver
- release a beaver into the wild without a licence
Beavers are listed as critically endangered on the Red List for England’s Mammals on the Mammal Society website.
You need to consider the conservation of Beavers as part of your planning decision. Find out more about your biodiversity duty.
The developer must comply with the legal protection of beavers.
The developer may need a beaver mitigation licence to carry out their development proposal.
When to ask for a survey
You should ask for a survey if all these conditions apply:
- the development proposal is within, adjacent or will affect suitable habitat for beavers, for example freshwater watercourses and waterbodies with bankside vegetation
- beavers are active or being released within or near to the catchment as shown on the Beaver Management website, or historical or distribution records show that beavers are active within or near the catchment - you can search the National Biodiversity Network Atlas by location, an obtain information from Local Environmental Record Centres
Absence of a record does not mean there are no beavers. It could mean there is no survey data available for that location. The distribution of beavers in England is likely to change as existing wild populations grow and expand, or when new wild releases occur.
Records may include data about beavers that have been kept in captivity and have escaped and been recaptured.
The survey can be carried out at any time of year but October to March will normally give the most accurate results. During the summer signs of beavers can be missed and under recorded because of vegetation growth. If the survey is caried out between April and September, a follow up survey between October and March would be needed before work begins.
The survey must be carried out less than 12 months before submitting any licence application and the development site must be revisited in the month before work begins to record any changes.
The survey should:
- show if the development site is currently being used by beavers
- identify if there are burrows, lodges or dams on or near the development site, taking account of the fact that burrows will probably be hard to find because they are often under water
- assess how beavers use the area, and evidence of territorial boundaries, access to foraging and dispersal routes
- include reference to the distribution map and relevant survey reports on the Beaver Management website
The survey should be carried out by a suitably qualified and experienced ecologist. For example, someone that has undertaken the CIEEM and Beaver Trust Beavers and Development: Survey, impact assessment and mitigation course.
Assess the effect of development on beavers
Developers should submit information with their planning application on how their development proposal avoids or mitigates harm to beavers.
Beavers could be affected if the development proposal causes:
- habitat loss or degradation in or near water bodies
- habitats to be separated or broken up, including if it changes beavers’ behaviour like forcing them to cross a road
- obstruction of access to a burrow, lodge or dam
- damage or destruction to burrows, lodges or dams
- significant loss of foraging areas, or access to them, which would be likely to negatively affect beavers’ survival and breeding success
- disturbance to beavers while they’re occupying lodges - from noise, lights, vibration, fires or chemical use
- a change to water quality, land drainage or hydrology – these could negatively affect beavers’ health, food sources, functionality of burrows or lodges or their ability to move around their territory
Use this table to see the impact that a development could have on beavers and their habitat. It is guidance only and impacts need to be assessed on a case by case basis.
| Level of impact | Beaver habitat affected by development proposal |
|---|---|
| high impact | breeding burrows or lodges dams that influence the water level in an area with significant areas of feeding signs, where the burrows are likely to be present permanent destruction or change to significant areas of habitat within a beaver territory or fragmentation of habitat |
| high to medium impact | burrows or lodges within the breeding season multiple burrows or dams within a territory |
| medium impact | partial or temporary destruction or change to the habitat |
| low impact | dams less than 2 weeks old or dams that are known not to influence the water level around a burrow or lodge one non-breeding burrow outside the breeding season temporary disturbance such as vehicle movements or use of power tools or machinery over a small part of a beaver territory or of a short duration |
Impacts will be higher where:
- multiple, larger or older burrows, lodges or dams are affected
- there is significant loss or fragmentation of habitat
- the territory is occupied by a large family of beavers
Removal of beaver dams can cause major alterations to wetland habitats and consideration must be given to impacts on other protected species.
For information about beavers, their distribution and conservation status, read:
- Natural England Access to Evidence – Defining Favourable Conservation Status.
- Beaver reintroductions in England 2000 to 2021
Avoidance, mitigation and compensation measures
Where possible development proposals should avoid negative effects on beavers. Where this is not possible, the developer will need to include adequate mitigation or, as a last resort, compensation measures in their development proposal to allow you to make a planning decision.
Avoidance could include measures to:
- design a layout that avoids isolating or fragmenting the beavers’ territory
- keep vegetation and water levels around burrows and lodges to provide cover
- not construct hard engineering along the watercourses
- prevent disturbance including noise, artificial lighting and vibration near active burrows and lodges - for example, by leaving a buffer zone along a river where these works do not happen
- keep heavy machinery and excavation work away from burrows and lodges
- stop activity between dusk and dawn when beavers are most active
- keep beaver foraging habitats
Where this is not possible, the development proposal could include mitigation measures that include:
- keeping, improving or creating foraging areas
- creating habitat connectivity and dispersal routes
- avoiding activity during the beaver breeding season (1 March to 31 August) or during extreme weather, which might affect beavers
- building tunnels under new roads, and passageways under bridges to provide safe access and crossing points for beavers – avoid building culverts for this, which beavers can block with a dam
- cap exposed pipes or provide exit ramps in trenches when workers are off site to stop beavers getting trapped
- using appropriate fencing to stop beavers getting into development sites
Mitigation should not normally include moving beavers from the development site as this may negatively affect their welfare. If there is no alternative to moving the beavers, it must be carried out by a trained and experienced professional under a beaver licence. Beavers must only be moved within the same catchment or to other catchments where there is an existing licence permitting the release of beavers into the wild. Beavers should normally be moved as entire family groups.
Or as a last resort, the development proposal could include compensation measures that:
- provide new habitat, for example by creating buffer strips or using other land in the catchment to increase bank resilience where beavers can build burrows, lodges and dams
- improve habitat, for example by planting native trees like willow and aspen along rivers or putting up fencing to keep livestock away from riverbanks so natural vegetation can grow
The size of the buffer strip will vary depending on:
- how beavers use the area for example how many and where there are burrows or lodges, and whether it is an established beaver territory
- the type of vegetation at the site
- the level of existing background disturbance
- the level and duration of proposed disturbance from the building works and occupation of the development site
- the time of year
Compensation measures should be within the same river catchment as the development site.
For more information on mitigation and compensation plans, read Protected species and development: advice for local planning authorities.
Planning and licence conditions
The developer may need to apply for a beaver mitigation licence if their activities are likely to affect beavers. You may also need to add mitigation or compensation strategies as a condition of planning permission. Before you can grant planning permission, you must:
- work with the relevant ecologist to make sure these conditions do not conflict with the requirements of the beaver licence
- be confident that Natural England will issue a licence – read section 4 of Protected species and development: advice for local planning authorities
You do not need to consult Natural England on the wording or discharge (approval) of any conditions you impose on a development proposal. Natural England is unable to provide advice on this.
Natural England will not generally issue a licence until planning conditions relating to protected species have been discharged. This applies to conditions that are intended to be and capable of being discharged before development begins.
Natural England will only confirm if you need a licence when the development proposal is a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP).
Enhance biodiversity
To meet your biodiversity duty, you should suggest ways for the developer to:
- create new or enhanced habitats on the development site
- achieve improvements in biodiversity through good design
- follow other relevant plans and strategies for nature
Site management and monitoring
You should consider the need for site monitoring and management. These measures are likely to be needed by beaver licences.
A site management and monitoring plan should:
- maintain suitable habitat for beavers – with appropriate habitat management
- maintain places for beavers to build burrows and lodges, and keep foraging habitats available
- check there are no barriers to beaver movement
- check that burrows and lodges have not been interfered with after development, such as from increased human presence or vandalism
The plan can include carrying out management works to maintain the habitat for beavers and more survey work to check that mitigation measures are working as planned, followed by remedial work if needed.