Overview
BSG Ecology was commissioned by Renewable Energy Systems Ltd to provide ecological support in relation to the construction of a 25 MW solar development in Gloucestershire, to be built on a former mixed-use farm. BSG was able to successfully apply to join the District Level Licensing scheme for the area, avoiding unnecessary costs and time delays.
Challenge
As part of the preliminary ecological scoping exercises, a total of 27 ponds were identified to be within 250 metres of the Site boundary. The desk study also confirmed that great crested newts were present in a pond adjacent to the Site boundary which required further survey work.
However, only three ponds on the Site were suitable and accessible for survey. These three ponds were subjected to an environmental DNA (eDNA) survey, which uses water samples to detect if the DNA of a species is present in the water. Although these three samples returned a negative result, no further survey information could be collected on the remaining 24 ponds.
The main challenge was to successfully support the solar farm application without negatively impacting great crested newts which were confirmed to be present close to the Site.
Solution
As data couldn’t be collected for all the ponds within 250 m of the proposed development, it was decided that a Natural England District Licence would be applied for. Where applicable District Level Licencing allows developers to pay for off-site compensation ponds instead of carrying out detailed surveys and applying for a mitigation licence1.
In addition to the eDNA survey, a walkover survey was carried out in June 2022 and again in May 2023 to confirm the status of the ponds, scoping these out where they were not suitable to support great crested newts and collect evidence of any dry ponds that could help reduce the cost of the scheme.
BSG worked closely with the client team throughout the process to ensure that they understood the possible impacts of the scheme on great crested newts and any potential delays to the programme as a result of the District Licence application.
Habitat creation and enhancement was built into the landscaping of the proposed development to enhance the fields, field boundaries and ponds across the Site which will have a positive impact on great crested newts.
Outcome
A Natural England District Licence Enquiry was made and it was confirmed that the project was eligible and would be accepted into the scheme. We were able to reduce the overall cost to the client by confirming absence through the eDNA surveys and scoping out some of the ponds during the walkover survey. The habitat creation has also contributed to the overall biodiversity net gain score of the Site and is expected to provide excellent habitat for reptiles, breeding birds and invertebrates.
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