BIOSCAN - A LEADING INDEPENDENT UK ECOLOGICAL CONSULTANCY
Welcome
to Bioscan
Bioscan is one of the UK’s longest established environmental consultancies specialising in applied ecology. We have been delivering independent and highly respected ecological services and advice since 1984.
With a diverse portfolio of clients spread across the commercial, public and charity/voluntary sectors, our staff are highly experienced in advising on strategies and solutions for compliance with wildlife legislation and ecological planning requirements, and include recognised experts in fields as diverse as environmental planning and impact assessment, protected species and licensing, advocacy and expert witness services, mitigation and compensation, and habitat management and conservation.
The technical expertise within the practice covers all species of bats, herpetofauna (including protected reptiles and great crested newts), badgers, dormouse, ornithology, botany and a wide range of other matters connected to ecology and biodiversity.
FOR DEVELOPERS
The bulk of Bioscan’s work is for the commercial sector, assisting developers with the identification and resolution of ecological issues relevant to planning. This ranges from pre-purchase site surveys to identify the suitability of land for development, through the full suite of technical ecological surveys (e.g. bats, newts, birds, habitats) required for impact assessments (including EcIA, EIA and HRA).
We take pride in the high quality of our reporting and in our reputation for positive outcomes where required to represent clients at planning committees, at inquiries, and in the senior courts.
FOR LANDOWNERS
Bioscan advises landowners on a wide range of matters related to land management and disposal. This includes advice on eligibility for agri-environment funding, management planning to optimise biodiversity, and advice on entering natural capital markets, in particular biodiversity offsetting and the delivery of ‘net gain’.
FOR CONSERVATION ORGANISATIONS
We are regularly instructed by nature conservation organisations to assist with surveys, research and monitoring on nature reserves and other designated land, with past and ongoing clients including the National Trust, Natural England, the RSPB and The Wildlife Trusts.
Commissions in this sector have ranged from desk-top data reviews and advice through to detailed and long-term botanical and invertebrate monitoring and the assembly of robust evidence for SSSI notification.
FOR CHARITIES & INTEREST GROUPS
A growing area of our work is in rationalising, collating and presenting independent ecological evidence for charities and interest groups. This ranges from cases where campaigners are unconvinced by the standard of ecological information submitted by applicants and seek independent review, through to producing expert witness statements and expert reports in cases of litigation.
Recent cases have included expert support for a national campaign group in reviewing the standard of ecological information presented for the Phase 2 element of the High Speed Two rail project and presentation of expert evidence to the High Court and Court of Appeal in a series of legal challenges brought by opponents of the badger cull.