Water voles: advice for making planning decisions
Source: gov.uk (2025-04-07)

How to assess a planning application when there are water voles on or near a proposed development site.

This is Natural England’s ‘standing advice’ for water voles. It is a material planning consideration for local planning authorities (LPAs). You should take this advice into account when making planning decisions. It forms part of a collection of standing advice for protected species (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/protected-species-how-to-review-planning-applications#standing-advice-for-protected-species). You should read this guidance alongside Protected species and development: advice for local planning authorities. (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/protected-species-how-to-review-planning-applications)

Following this advice:
- avoids the need for you to consult on the impacts of planning applications on water voles in most cases
- can help you make decisions on development proposals
You may need a qualified ecologist to advise you on the planning application and supporting evidence. You can find one using either the:
- Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) directory (https://cieem.net/i-need/finding-a-consultant/)
- Environmental Data Services directory (https://www.endsdirectory.com/)
Qualified ecologists should follow published guidelines such as:
- Water Vole Mitigation Handbook 2016 (https://mammal.org.uk/blog/2016/05/the-mammal-society-water-vole-mitigation-handbook-is-now-available-to-purchase?rq=water%20vole%20mitigation) published by the Mammal Society
- Water Vole Conservation Handbook 2011 – published by the Wild Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford
How water voles are protected

Water voles are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is an offence to intentionally:
- kill, injure or take them
- possess or control them (or any part, alive or dead)
It is also an offence to intentionally or recklessly:
- damage or destroy a structure or place used for shelter or protection
- disturb them while they occupy a structure or place used for shelter or protection
- obstruct access to a structure or place used for shelter or protection
- possess or transport them (or any part, alive or dead)
- sell, offer or publish an advert to sell them
Water voles are:
- listed as endangered on the Red List for England’s Mammals on the Mammal Society website (https://mammal.org.uk/current-research/red-list-for-britains-mammals)
- included on the list of species of principle importance in England (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/habitats-and-species-of-principal-importance-in-england) under section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (2006)
These documents may not be accessible to assistive technology.

You must consider the conservation of water voles as part of your planning decision. Find out more about your biodiversity duty (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/complying-with-the-biodiversity-duty).

The developer must comply with the legal protection of water voles.

The developer may need to apply for a water vole licence (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/water-vole-licences) to carry out their development proposals.

When to ask for a survey

You should ask for a survey if distribution and historical records suggest water voles may be present. You can search the National Biodiversity Network Atlas (https://nbnatlas.org/) by species and location.

Absence of a record does not mean there are no water voles. It could mean there is no survey data available for that location.

You should also ask for a survey if the habitat is suitable for water voles, for example, if there are:
- soft earth banks for burrowing
- wide swathes of soft vegetation growing from the banks and in the water
- slow-flowing water courses or clustered ponds and wetlands of varying depths
- places for water voles to escape from predators
Water voles can be present in habitats where water bodies are not connected.

You must check if the ecologist is qualified and experienced to carry out surveys for water voles. CIEEM publishes:
- competencies required for species surveys (https://cieem.net/resource/competencies-for-species-survey-css/)
- advice on the valid age of ecological survey data (https://cieem.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Advice-Note.pdf)
Assess the effect of development on water voles

Developers should submit information with their planning application on how their development proposal avoids or mitigates harm to water voles.

Activities that can harm water voles include:
- destroying or damaging their habitat
- destroying or disturbing places used for shelter or protection
- changing water quality
- changing water depth
- breaking connections or routes between habitats
To understand the level of mitigation needed, the development proposal needs to show:
- how likely it is that water voles will be affected by any development work
- the potential effects that work to the watercourse itself and work nearby would have on water voles
For information about water voles, their distribution and conservation status, read chapter 7.9 of Natural England’s ‘A Review of the Population and Conservation Status of British Mammals (https://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/5636785878597632)’. The document may not be accessible to assistive technology.

Avoidance, mitigation and compensation measures

Where possible development proposals should avoid negative effects on water voles. Where this is not possible, the developer will need to include adequate mitigation or, as a last resort, compensation measures in their development proposal to allow you to make a planning decision.

Developers could redesign the development proposal to avoid:
- working where there are water voles
- habitat fragmentation and isolation by maintaining habitat connection
- damage to water vole habitat
Where this is not possible, mitigation measures could include encouraging water voles to move to an alternative connected habitat by removing vegetation, known as displacement.

If the development has a negative impact on the water voles that cannot be mitigated for, the developer must compensate for this.

Any new habitat created for water voles must be capable of supporting them before they are displaced or moved. It should be nearby and well connected to other suitable habitat for water voles.

The compensation could include:
- providing more or better habitat for the water voles, to make up for any lost through development
- improving water quality
- enhancing bank and vegetation structure
- carrying out mink control
Natural England will only grant a licence to translocate water voles off the development site or take them into captivity as a last resort. The translocation proposal should include evidence that:
- there is no suitable alternative on the development site
- removing water voles from the development site will not have a detrimental effect on the source population
- removing water voles from the development site will benefit water vole conservation
For more information on mitigation plans and compensation measures, read section 3 on Protected species and development: advice for local planning authorities (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/protected-species-how-to-review-planning-applications#agree-avoidance-mitigation-or-compensation-measures).

Planning and licence conditions

The developer may need to apply for a water vole mitigation licence (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/water-voles-apply-for-a-mitigation-licence-a11) if their activities are likely to affect water voles

If the project affects less than 50 metres of bank, the developer can employ an ecologist registered under class licence CL31 to displace water voles (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/water-voles-licence-to-displace-them-for-development-projects).

You may also need to add mitigation or compensation strategies as a condition of planning permission. Before you can grant planning permission, you must:
- work with the relevant ecologist to make sure these conditions do not conflict with the requirements of the water vole licence
- be confident that Natural England will issue a licence. Read section 4 of Protected species and development: advice for local planning authorities (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/protected-species-how-to-review-planning-applications#consider-if-a-licence-is-likely-to-be-granted-before-you-give-permission)
You do not need to consult Natural England on the wording or discharge (approval) of any conditions you impose on a development proposal. Natural England is unable to provide advice on this.

Natural England will not generally issue a licence until planning conditions relating to protected species have been discharged. This applies to conditions that are intended to be and capable of being discharged before development begins.

Natural England will only confirm if you need a licence when the development proposal is a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP).

Enhance biodiversity

To meet your biodiversity duty (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/biodiversity-duty-public-authority-duty-to-have-regard-to-conserving-biodiversity), you should suggest ways for the developer to:
- create new or enhanced habitats on the development site
- achieve improvements in biodiversity through good design
- follow other relevant plans and strategies for nature
Site management and monitoring

You should consider the need for site monitoring and management. These measures are likely to be a condition of wildlife licences.

A site management and monitoring plan should include:
- vegetation management to maintain shelter and foraging resources
- management of the potential risks from increased human presence and pollution
- maintenance or improvement of water quality and water levels at the development site
- monitoring of water vole populations after development
This can include carrying out management works to habitats and additional survey work to check that mitigation measures are working as intended, followed by remedial work if needed.