Lepus Consulting were commissioned by Zesta Planning to undertake a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) to support a planning application for a single residential dwelling. The site forms part of the hamlet of Parkway to the south of Ledbury.

A site visit was carried out alongside a desktop review of the site. At the time of the assessment, the site was used as a residential garden for Parkway House. The site was assessed as being very limited in terms of biodiversity.

The desktop study involved a review of publicly available information on protected habitats and species. A 2km Zone of Influence (ZOI) was used in this PEA. A site walkover was also undertaken by professionally qualified ecologists focusing on protected and priority habitats and species. Habitats found to be present on the site were amenity grassland and ornamental shrubs. The site walkover identified a list of botanical species which were compiled and scored using DAFOR to create an idea of species abundance across the site.

The site walkover found a signs of bat species within the ZOI, including within the site. A shed in the garden was surveyed for bats and was classified as negligible value for roosting. The surrounding woodland is the ZOI was considered a more suitable habitat for bats. The study also surveyed badgers, birds, reptiles, great crested newts, invertebrates, flora and other invasive species.

Lepus produced a PEA report (PEAR) to summarise the findings of the assessment. This identified the ecological constraints associated with the project and highlighted any mitigation measures likely to be required, following the mitigation hierarchy. The report also identified any additional surveys that may be required to inform an Ecological Impact Assessment (EcIA). Opportunities for ecological enhancement were also offered by the report.