Are you thinking about applying for planning permission to develop a site or have you already applied?
Do you know if slow-worms are present - or not?
Have the planning authority asked for information about slow-worms on your site?
Have the neighbours suggested slow-worms might be present?Whether developing a large or small site, nearly all creatures are now protected from harm by law - including slow-worms.
It is essential that you have an initial site check carried out that can flag up a variety of wildlife matters that might arise. This will help you reduce costs in your design work and give you a realistic picture of your site.
Knowledge about the presence or absence of slow-worms, will help give you a smoother planning process and help to eliminate those last minute requests that can delay a project and put a big hole in the budget.
FAQ
What are slow-worms?
Slow-worms are snake-like legless lizards without the markings of adders and grass snakes.
How big are they?
New born they are about 80-90mm long; adults are typically 30-35cm long, exceptionally 50cm. As a defence mechanism, they can shed their tails which will reduce their size.
What colour are they?
New born are pale copper with black stripe. Juveniles and adult females are darker coppery coloured with black stripes along their body. Adult males gradually lose the black stripes and become greyish brown.
How long do they live?
Many slow-worms will die in their first few years, some living perhaps 10 years and exceptionally (in captivity) up to 40 years.
Where do they live
Slow-worms need warmth to be able to move and hunt and so they prefer sunny places where there are abundant small creatures to eat and sheltered areas such as piles of rubble, hedgerows and compost heaps where they can rest, shelter and hibernate.
Why might they be on my site?
Slow-worms can be very common in gardens, allotments and waste places including urban areas.
Where do they occur?
Widely distributed, often common, in gardens and open places across southern England and East
Anglia, in southeast Scotland and more scattered in midland England and Wales.
Are they protected?
Yes, against killing, injuring or taking for sale under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside
Act 1981.
What does all this mean for development?
A developer must take reasonable steps to prevent killing and injuring slow-worms during site
investigations and clearance of vegetation and topsoil stripping.
How is this done?By removing slow-worms and transferring them to a place where they will be safe prior to starting works. Initially by laying pieces of roofing felt and corrugated iron which attracts them for capture over perhaps several months and then by ‘destructive search’.
What is a ‘destructive search'?
The process of sifting through all parts of the site to ensure that any remaining slow-worms
are captured.
How is this done?
By using a mechanical excavator to carefully turn areas of paving and hardcore, to lift shrubs
out by their roots, and to strip turf and topsoil while maintaining a careful look out for slow-worms that may be uncovered. At the same time it is usual to remove any other creatures (such as small mammals, lizards, frogs or toads that may be found).
What then?
Having completed the destructive search, we prepare a report which describes the procedures
undertaken and numbers translocated which is then submitted to the local planning authority to
discharge planning conditions.
Summary of possible works with regard to slow-worms:
Presence/absence surveys
Felting/tinning
Exclusion
Catching
Recording (mapping, size, age, sex, weather conditions)
Relocation
Destructive searches
Reporting with charts and colour photographs(While removing slow-worms, we will remove any other creatures we might find such as lizards, grass snakes, frogs, toads and newts. We also work with other protected species such as badgers, bats and great crested newts)
Copyright:Ron Allen |
