You can report details of wildlife sightings on any of the proposed housing sites to Bristol Regional Environmental Records Centre (BRERC)
To report sightings of Wildlife (Plant or Animal): Plot sightings onto a map (grid referenced map is ideal but a hand drawn map will suffice). State WHAT was seen, WHERE it was seen & WHO saw it. The sightings do not have to be recent, just state what year sighted if that’s all that can be recalled. Animal nesting or Badger Setts do not have to be active in order to record them onto the database. Send information to BRERC by email or post, as soon as possible.
The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (NERC Act) 2006 requires that public organisations, including local authorities, consider biodiversity in all of their functions. This duty brings nature conservation clearly into the set of statutory commitments for local authorities.
You can make a difference. Check that the planning application contains an ecological survey for the site, and that it has been done correctly (e.g. that the desktop survey was done first to obtain Records Centre data; that the survey was done at the right time of year, by a qualified ecologist and that it recommends mitigation and biodiversity improvements).
If the Council’s Planning Department is informed by a member of the public that certain types of wildlife are present, that will be enough to enable the relevant Planning Officer to request a survey. Also, tell the Bristol Regional Environmental Records Centre (BRERC) about any wildlife you have seen, preferably long before the area comes up for development!
BRERC keeps the wildlife database for our area. They should be approached whenever a developer requires information. Of course they can only give out what has been sent in – tell them what was seen, who saw it, where and when the observation was made. BRERC will also use this information to establish species distributions for research and for education.
Their contact details are: brerc.org.uk BRERC, Blaise Castle House Museum, Henbury, Bristol BS10 7QS. Tel: 0117 934 9833
As a member of the public you can use BRERC’s services free of charge to see what wildlife has been recorded in your vicinity.