Suffolk Biodiversity Validation Checklist

The Suffolk Biodiversity Validation Checklist helps applicants and local planning authorities ensure that planning applications include the ecological information needed for proper determination. It was developed by the Suffolk Biodiversity Partnership Planning Support Group and is adopted by all Suffolk planning authorities.

The checklist should be used where a Biodiversity or Geodiversity Assessment is required because the site includes or is close to:

• Sites designated or proposed for their biodiversity or geodiversity importance, including Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), Ramsar sites, National Nature Reserves (NNRs), Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), Special Protection Areas (SPAs), County Wildlife Sites (CWSs), County GeoSites (CGSs), and UK and Suffolk Priority Habitats
• Areas including or close to recorded locations of protected species and UK and Suffolk Priority Species
• Other areas identified in pre-application discussions as potentially containing protected or priority species

The checklist includes the relevant extract from BS42020, the British Standard Code of Practice for Biodiversity in Planning and Development, which sets out the requirement to provide adequate ecological information to enable determination of planning applications. The appropriate seasons for undertaking ecological surveys are identified in Figure 2, attached to Table 1 of the document.

The checklist should now be read alongside the requirements of mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), which applies to most planning applications in England from February 2024. Applicants will need to demonstrate 10% BNG in addition to meeting the survey requirements set out in the checklist.

Last updated September 2019. This document predates mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain requirements. It remains current guidance for ecological survey validation but should be read in conjunction with current BNG legislation and guidance.