Regulatory authorities
If you consent to activities as part of your job, remember to consider a proposal’s likely impacts on protected species.
Before consenting to activities, regulatory authorities such as planning authorities must consider the law and Scottish Government policy on protected species.
The legal protection and policies that apply may vary between different protected species.
Find out about the offences in relation to each protected species.
Or learn about the legal framework for statutory protection.
Planning permission considerations
Before considering any planning application, planning authorities must establish whether any European protected species is present on the proposed site. If there is, you must consider the likely impacts of the development. This is Scottish Government policy.
Planning authorities cannot attach a suspensive condition to planning permission. For example, you cannot apply a condition that a bat survey must be carried out before work on a development begins.
If a European protected species is present on a site, the planning authority must satisfy itself that either:
- the proposed development will not adversely affect the species
- all three European protected species licensing tests necessary for the granting of the licence required by the developer can be met
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