The Bat Low Impact Class Licence, or BLICL, is Natural England’s new “light-touch” approach to licensing which saves our clients time and money.
To use the BLICL, an ecologist must become a “Registered Consultant” and successful registration is based on “earned recognition”. In simple terms, Natural England assess the individual applying to be registered and only accept those who can demonstrate, though the quality and range of work they have done in the past, that they have the knowledge, experience and skills necessary.
Graeme Smart has been a Registered Consultant able since 2014 and was one of the small number of ecologists selected to take part in the initial trial which helped its development.
Since 2014, we have found that by using the BLICL we have been able to significantly reduce delays and costs for our clients.
The BLICL can be used to cover development works in buildings and structures where the works will impact on the more common bat species, and where the type of roost that will be affected has low conservation significance i.e. roosts other than maternity roosts and hibernation sites.
To rely on the BLICL to cover development, a site has to first be registered with Natural England. A site can only be registered by a Registered Consultant, and that consultant should have had some involvement in the initial bat survey work at the site.
A point well worth considering when commissioning bat surveys is that by using a Registered Consultant to carry out bat surveys, you will keep open the lowest cost route to using the BLICL at a later date if bats are present.
Contact us to see if we can use the BLICL to save time and money for your project.
View our Bat Low Impact Services