Licensing and Permitting

Not sure if you need any licences or permits to carry out your work? Exo Environmental have helped numerous clients to obtain the relevant permissions to allow their projects to go ahead.

The licences and permits we can obtain include:

•Marine licences (MMO) - Required for work below mean high water.

•Natural England Assent/Consent - Required for work within or near to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

•Waste management (WAMITAB) – Required when handling waste, such as dredged sediment or excavated soil.

•Environmental Permit–Check if you need to apply for an environmental permit, formerly known as a flood defence consent (or FRAP). This will usually be required for work in proximity to a river or flood defence structure.

•Planning permit - Required for any commercial or residential developments.

•Landowner consent - To help communicate with landowners such as the Crown Estate to gain their support for the project.

We can prepare all documents associated with the above licences and permits. The most commonly required are Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), Habitat Regulation Assessments (HRA), Water Framework Directive Assessments (WFD) and Preliminary Ecological Assessments (PEA).

 

CASE STUDIES

  • In 2023, Exo Environmental were contracted by civil engineering firm BAM Nuttal to complete marine licensing and environmental surveying on the North Norfolk Coast. Following the decision that 26 groynes spanning Happisburgh to Winterton were no longer fit for purpose, marine licences had to be obtained which would permit the urgent replacement.

    Forming part of the Norfolk Coast National Landscape, the site area is unsurprisingly home to a number of notable designations, including a Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) amongst others. Therefore, this project specifically required a Marine Licence to be obtained from Marine Management Organisation (MMO), with supporting documentation in the form of a shadow Habitat Regulations Assessment (sHRA) and a Water Framework Directive Assessment (WFD).

    Using the latest data from environmental monitoring in combination with detail from previous works, Exo were able to successfully collate and submit all the evidence and information necessary to obtain this essential licence. As a result, BAM Nuttal were given a clear list of conditions they needed to follow to avoid any negative impacts on protected species in the area and are now currently carrying out these vital repairs.

  • In 2024, Exo Environmental were approached by Landmarc, a land management organisation who work on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), to devise and undertake the restoration of saltmarsh at a site in Fingringhoe, Essex.

    This key habitat has been in decline across the UK over the last two centuries due to land drainage and increasing erosion from climate change. The need for regeneration is not only to protect its many endemic species but also because it functions as an excellent natural sea defence.

    After on-site trials, we decided to employ a combination of brushwood fencing and coir matting to trap sediment deposits and encourage the colonisation of saltmarsh plant species. Before the work could go ahead, a Marine Licence from the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) had to be obtained, along with the completion of relevant documentation, such as a shadow Habitat Regulations Assessment (sHRA) and Water Framework Directive assessment (WFD).

    Thankfully, the nature of the works meant that adverse effects on local protected species were low and would likely have a net positive impact in the long term. As such, this license was soon obtained, and the full-scale installation was able to go ahead in April 2025.

  • For a number of years, Exo Environmental have been supporting Colchester City Council with all the relevant licenses and permits required for the reconstruction of Fieldgate Quay on the River Colne in the south of the city. The sheet piling which provides crucial stability to the riverbanks of the Colne collapsed into the river in 2022, needing to be removed and replaced. It was then planned to replace the wider quayside sheet piling with a naturalised embankment.

    Despite the site being located a considerable distance upstream, the tidal nature of the river at the quayside meant that this project required a Marine Management Organisation licence. It also mandated the completion of a shadow Habitat Regulations Assessment (sHRA), Water Framework Directive (WFD) assessment and Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA), due to the close proximity of a number of designated sites.

    The complexity of this project meant that it had to be split into multiple phases, consequently meaning that each phase needed its own submission of the aforementioned licenses and permits. After the completion of phase one back in 2024, Exo is currently awaiting approval from the MMO for phase two at the time of writing.