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Natural England has announced that it will start charging for Great Crested Newt mitigation licences from 17th February 2020. This will include all new applications and modification requests received with effect from 17th February unless the licence is issued for a purpose which is exempt from charges e.g. householder applications or on matters of health and safety.

For Badger licences for development purposes, Natural England intend to introduce charging this spring, in time for the 2020 season.

Natural England is reportedly keeping a close watch on their plan to maintain a good level of service throughout the season. They claim to have made progress and are confident that they can deliver a consistently good level of service in 2020. We will be interested to see if this translates into reality as we progress through the year.