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draw on it. Heritage and environmental consultants for planning and development

In most cases, yes, if your proposal affects a heritage asset: a listed building, a conservation area, a registered park or the setting of any of them. Local planning authorities expect a heritage statement to explain what is significant about the asset and how the proposal responds to it, and applications without one are often delayed or refused. More sensitive or complex schemes need a heritage impact assessment, which goes further and tests each impact in detail. Our heritage consultants write both, and we can tell you which one your scheme needs.

Earlier than most people do: at acquisition, feasibility or concept stage, while the layout can still change. At that point a small adjustment can avoid a redesign, archaeological risk can be priced into the appraisal, and seasonal ecology surveys can be booked into the right windows. Left until the application is ready, the options narrow, survey seasons may already have passed and the fixes cost more. An early conversation tells you which constraints are real and which can safely wait.

Sometimes, but far more often they shape what is acceptable: the layout, the scale, the design, the programme or the cost. What matters is knowing early where the real constraints sit and how significant they are. At Bypass Solar Farm in Lincolnshire, our geophysical survey and trial trenching found an enclosure of likely Iron Age to Roman date, and the solar layout was redesigned to avoid it rather than the scheme being lost. Some sites do need changes to be supported, and we will say so plainly when that is the case.

A bat preliminary roost assessment can be done at any time of year. Emergence and re-entry surveys need bats to be active, so the best window is May to August, with restricted surveys possible in September. Activity surveys, by transect and remote monitoring, run from May to September, weather permitting in April and October. Hibernation surveys run from December to February. If a site needs emergence surveys and the summer window is missed, the next one is the following May, which is why it pays to check a site early.

In England, most developments must now deliver at least a 10% gain in biodiversity value. It is measured with the statutory biodiversity metric: a baseline habitat survey records what is on the site now, the metric scores it before and after development, and any shortfall is made up with habitat created on site or bought off site. Modelled early, net gain can shape the layout and the landscape scheme. Left late, it often means an expensive off-site solution. We prepare the baseline, the metric, the biodiversity net gain statement and the long-term management plan.

Yes. We work throughout the UK, mostly in England and Wales, for householders as well as on large schemes in housing, renewables, minerals, infrastructure, leisure, retail and commercial development. Most of our clients are in the private sector, and we have public sector clients too. Our consultants have worked from home since 2010, so we meet by video where we can and travel when the site needs it.

Usually a site plan, the location and a short description of what you are proposing and what stage the project has reached. If the council or a consultee has already asked for something specific, send that too, along with any reports you already hold. Every quote is based on the site and the level of assessment it actually needs, so the more we know at the start, the more precise the quote can be. The form at the bottom of this page asks for exactly those things.

Often, yes. A refusal does not always end a project; it depends on why it was refused. We review the reasons and the officer's report, tell you honestly whether there is a realistic route forward, and if there is, set out the case for an amended scheme or an appeal. Our heritage consultants prepare appeal statements and give expert evidence at hearings and inquiries. At Madeley Manor, near Stoke-on-Trent, we advised for six years and gave evidence at the hearing, and the enabling development was allowed at appeal.