The Wildlife Licence Charges (England) Order 2025
The Wildlife Licence Charges (England) Order 2025, effective March 28, 2025, establishes new fees for wildlife licenses issued by Natural England under various Acts and Regulations.
It details fixed and variable charges based on application complexity and time spent processing the application, outlining exceptions for public safety, serious damage prevention, certain conservation purposes and development projects.
The Order also revokes the 2018 equivalent, maintaining the previous order's standards for applications submitted before the effective date.
Arguments For
Cost Recovery: The updated charges aim to ensure Natural England can recover the costs of processing licence applications, ensuring the sustainability of their operations and continued provision of licensing services.
Transparency and Clarity: The Order provides a transparent and detailed breakdown of charges, categorized by licence type and application complexity. This improves predictability for applicants.
Environmental Protection: By properly funding Natural England's licensing processes, the Order indirectly supports environmental protection by ensuring effective monitoring and regulation of activities affecting protected species and habitats.
Legal Basis: The Order is made under powers granted by the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006, providing a clear legal basis for implementing these changes.
Arguments Against
Increased Burden on Applicants: The increased charges, particularly for complex applications, may present a financial burden to individuals and organizations seeking licences, potentially hindering conservation efforts.
Potential for Inconsistent Application: The subjective nature of categorizing applications as "simple" or "complex" may lead to inconsistencies in charge application and potential disputes.
Impact on Research & Conservation: Higher costs could dissuade researchers and conservationists from undertaking projects requiring licences, slowing advancements in environmental protection.
Alternative Funding Models: The Order does not explore alternative funding models for Natural England, such as increased government funding or alternative revenue generation strategies, overlooking potential more efficient solutions.
- Citation, commencement, extent and application (1) This Order may be cited as the Wildlife Licence Charges (England) Order 2025 and comes into force on 28th March 2025. (2) This Order extends to England and Wales. (3) This Order applies to England only.
This section provides the Order's title, effective date (March 28, 2025), and its geographical scope.
It applies to England, despite extending to England and Wales in its broader reach.
- Interpretation (1) In this Order— “the 1981 Act” means the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; “the 2017 Regulations” means the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017; “the 2018 Order” means the Wildlife Licence Charges (England) Order 2018; “application” includes a notification to Natural England under a class licence of a particular site where an applicant intends to carry out licensed activities, and in this context “applicant” means a person intending to rely on the class licence; “bats” means all species of—(a) horseshoe bats (Rhinolophidae); (b) typical bats (Vespertilionidae); “complex application” means an application for a licence which requires Natural England to spend, prior to its issue, 5 hours or more assessing the impact on conservation of the licensable activities; “protected species or habitat” means—(a) species protected under—(i) Schedule 1, Part 1 of Schedule 2, Schedule 5, Schedule 6 or Schedule 8 to the 1981 Act; (ii) the Protection of Badgers Act 1992; or (iii) Schedule 2, Schedule 4 or Schedule 5 to the 2017 Regulations; (b) species and habitats set out in the biodiversity list published by the Secretary of State in August 2010 under section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006; and “simple application” means an application for a licence which requires Natural England to spend, prior to its issue, fewer than 5 hours assessing the impact on conservation of the licensable activities. (2) In this Order, the issue of a licence includes—(a) renewal or modification of a licence; (b) registration under a class licence for the purpose of reliance on that licence; (c) authorisation under a licence to carry out licensed activities at a particular site.
This section defines key terms used throughout the Order, including references to other legislation like the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.
It also clarifies the definitions of "application," "bats," "complex application," "protected species or habitat," and "simple application." The section further expands on the meaning of "issuing a licence" to include renewals, modifications, and site-specific authorizations.
- Licence charges (1) Where Natural England issues a licence of a description in column 1 of the Schedule in relation to an application of a kind described (where appropriate) in column 2 of the Schedule, the applicant must pay to Natural England—(a) any corresponding fixed charge specified in column 3 of the Schedule; (b) any corresponding variable charge specified in column 4 of the Schedule; (c) where applicable, both of the charges referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b); and (d) an additional charge, where paragraph (2) applies. (2) This paragraph applies in respect of any licence for which a fixed charge alone is payable under paragraph (1)(a), where Natural England—(a) requires further information from an applicant prior to issuing a licence; or (b) issues a licence following review of an application it has rejected. (3) A variable charge referred to in paragraph (1)(b) is calculated by multiplying the total number of hours spent by Natural England in assessing the licence application by £121. (4) An additional charge referred to in paragraph (1)(d) is calculated by multiplying the additional hours spent by Natural England in connection with paragraph (2)(a) or paragraph (2)(b) by £121. (5) For the purposes of paragraphs (3) and (4), the number of hours spent may be rounded to the nearest quarter of an hour, and expressed as a fraction accordingly, where the time spent is—(a) less than one hour; or (b) not a whole number of hours. (6) A charge payable under this Order is payable to Natural England on demand. (7) The charges payable may be recoverable, as a civil debt, if not paid by the date on which they are due. (8) A civil debt recoverable under paragraph (7) may be recovered summarily in England by way of a complaint pursuant to section 58 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980.
This article details the fee structure for wildlife licenses.
Fees are determined by referencing the schedule, which categorizes licenses and specifies fixed and variable charges.
Variable charges are calculated based on processing time (£121 per hour), with additional charges applied if further information is needed or the application is reviewed after initial rejection.
Payment is required upon demand, and unpaid charges are recoverable as civil debts.
The method of recovering these debts is also stipulated.
- Exemptions, reductions and remissions (1) An applicant is exempt from a charge payable under article 3—(a) where the licence is issued—(i) for the purposes of preserving public health or public safety; (ii) for the purposes of preventing serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber or any other form of property; (iii) for the purposes of preventing the spread of disease; (iv) under section 16(1)(e) of the 1981 Act, for the purposes of falconry; or (v) in connection with development, within the meaning of section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, which is granted planning permission—(aa) pursuant to article 3 of, and Part 1 of Schedule 2 (development within the curtilage of a dwelling house) to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015; or (bb) following the making of a householder application within the meaning of article 2 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management) (England) Order 2015; (b) where the principal purpose or purposes of the project or activity to which the licence relates is or are—(i) scientific, research or educational purposes relating to a protected species or habitat; (ii) to maintain or improve the conservation of a protected species or habitat; or (iii) to maintain or improve the conservation of a historic building; or (c) where the applicant maintains or improves the conservation of bats through measures taken to avoid damage or destruction to an existing bat roost or to preserve access to that roost. (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b)(iii), “historic building” includes—(a) a scheduled monument; (b) a listed building; (c) a place of worship; (d) a traditional farm building to which a relevant commitment relates, where a “relevant commitment” is a commitment entered into under Title 3 of Regulation (EU) No.1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. (3) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(c), a “bat roost” means a maternity, day or hibernation roost, used by three or more bats concurrently, within a building or structure. (4) Natural England may, in any case—(a) reduce, or (b) remit in whole or in part, any charge payable under article 3, as it sees fit.
This article outlines exemptions, reductions, and remissions of license fees.
Exemptions apply to licenses issued for public health/safety, preventing damage, disease prevention, falconry, and certain developments.
Further exemptions are given for projects primarily focused on scientific research, conservation of protected species or habitats, historic building conservation, or bat roost preservation.
Natural England retains the discretion to reduce or waive fees on a case-by-case basis.
- Revocation and savings provision (1) The Wildlife Licence Charges (England) Order 2018 (“the 2018 Order”) is revoked. (2) The 2018 Order continues to apply as if this Order had not been made in relation to an application which—(a) is of a kind described (where appropriate) in column 2 of the Schedule to the 2018 Order; and (b) was made before 28th March 2025.
This article revokes the 2018 Wildlife Licence Charges (England) Order.
However, it includes a saving provision, ensuring that applications submitted before March 28, 2025, are still assessed under the 2018 Order's fee structure.
Schedule Licence Charges (This is a table detailing various licence descriptions, application types, fixed charges, and variable charges. Due to its length and tabular nature, it is omitted from this summary but is available in the full document.)
The Schedule provides a comprehensive table listing specific licence descriptions, associated application types, corresponding fixed charges, and variable charges.
The variable charge is calculated based on the assessment time of the application.