The North Killingholme (Generating Station) Order 2014

Water vole mitigation strategy

33.—(1) No part of the authorised development shall be carried out until a written strategy for the mitigation of the impacts of the authorised development on water voles, as outlined in the environmental statement, has been submitted to and approved by the relevant planning authority.

(2) The strategy shall provide for—

(a) details of a programme to survey for the presence of water voles and the location of any water vole burrows in ditches 2B and 3B as shown in the figures forming part of the environmental statement;

(b) the measures to be taken to address the protection of water voles where these are discovered in locations other than those assessed in the environmental statement including habitat manipulation and displacement methodologies;

(c) the design and location of a box culvert to be installed beneath the southern access road comprised in Work No. 8;

(d) the methodology for reporting the results of any surveys required under the scheme to the relevant planning authority, and the steps to be taken to obtain approval for measures to be taken to protect any water voles or water vole burrows that are discovered as part of those surveys;

(e) enhancement planting to be carried out along ditch 3B, to include species that will not grow so as to over-shade and/or choke the ditch, and measures for a programme of scrub control to reduce shading of the ditch, and measures to ensure that water levels are maintained at an appropriate level for the maintenance of water vole habitat;

(f) the creation of replacement habitat, which must wherever practicable be within the operations area, to include measures such as the extension of ditch 3B and the creation of additional wet ditches. New habitat will be designed so as to provide structurally suitable conditions for burrows, and appropriate food plants;

(g) details of the management of any measures to be carried out as part of the water vole mitigation strategy, and

the construction of the authorised development shall not commence until the water vole surveys required under the strategy to be submitted under this paragraph have been carried out and the relevant planning authority has approved any measures to be taken to protect water voles as identified in the strategy.

(3) No construction works for the access road comprised in Work No. 8 shall be commenced until a box culvert is installed according to the specification agreed under the vole mitigation strategy.

(4) The approved water vole mitigation strategy and any measures thereunder shall be implemented and maintained during construction and operation of the development unless otherwise approved by the relevant planning authority.