PRE-DEMOLITION DUE DILIGENCE
It is often a surprise to quarry operators to find that plant and ancillary structures have been colonised by legally protected species. Over the years, AEcol have been called-in to deal with a wide range of issues, including:
Great crested newts in lagoon complexes
Reptiles on screening bunds and soil mounds
Pied wagtails, wrens and barn owls nesting in plant-housing and blockworks, sand martins in pit faces, peregrines on quarry benches and little ringed plover in lagoon systems
Roosting bats in electrical substations, under Portacabin felt roofing, behind barge-boards on blockworks and offices, and even within the gaps between upright RSJ’s and railway-sleepers being used as aggregate hoppers and
Badgers in setts they had dug in topsoil mounds
In order to demonstrate safeguard against the potential that an offence might be committed in respect of legally protected species, we offer a sensible ‘Pre-demolition Protected Species Appraisal’ service. This survey is basically an ecological risk assessment, that not only identifies what legally protected species may be present, but gives practical advice as to how any of the species found may be managed in order to achieve the demolition without any risk of a negative effect upon legally protected wildlife or penalties to quarry staff.