Does the council employ a planning ecologist to scrutinise planning reports for improvements to biodiversity in new developments, such as biodiversity net gain?

Clarifications

Planning ecologists are ecologists that scrutinise planning applications on biodiversity measures. They often sit within the planning department but they can sit within any department in the council. If the planning ecologist does sit outside the planning department it must be clear that the planning ecologist spends 3 days or more per week (0.6 FTE) scrutinising planning applications.

Contracted planning ecologists and permanent planning ecologists will both meet the criteria provided the threshold of 3 or more days a week is met.

Where councils have a joint approach, staff are shared across councils or in a joint planning unit, this will be accepted as long as the planning ecologist capacity meets the minimum criteria of staff (0.6 FTE) that is shared across the constituent councils. For example, if a joint planning unit had 6 FTE planning ecologists across 10 councils this would meet the criteria.