Data Search

Wood Ants
© Buckinghamshire County Museum

BMERC receives two types of enquiry:

Commercial - from consultants, solicitors and local authorities
Non-commercial - from members of the public, volunteer recorders, landowners looking to manage their land for nature conservation, students and other researchers

Charges

For commercial data searches a charge is made to cover the cost of staff time, printing materials and postage. There is no charge for the actual data and any payment made does not confer exchange of copyright of the data. We do not usually charge for non-commercial enquiries. However, if a request takes several hours to complete or involves high printing or postage costs a small charge may be levied.

Our standard charge is £75 per hour plus VAT, with a minimum charge for a single enquiry of £75 plus VAT. We aim to complete and send the results of an average enquiry within 10 working days; if you would like the information urgently a 50% surcharge will be levied. If a search results in the absence of any data the charge will be discounted by 50%. Our charging policy can be downloaded from the link below.

If you wish to make an enquiry please download and complete the Information Request form below, which can be emailed back to us. This form has been designed for commercial data searches and must be completed before we will release any data.

When completing the Information Request Form please bear in mind the following;

Search area

A data search usually covers either a specific area or a selected site, point or line with a specified buffer (usually 1 or 2 Km). If you provide us with a map clearly highlighting the area you are interested in and an accurate grid reference it helps us to locate the site quickly and ensures that there is no confusion over the area concerned.

Data

Data most commonly requested includes information about statutory and non-statutory sites and details of protected species and other notable species records. We can also provide details of the location of Priority (BAP) habitat.

If we know the reasons for a site designation these will be passed on.

If you would like details of protected species records you must complete the section of the Information Request Form about your reason for requesting data and what the data will be used for in as much detail as possible. This helps us to determine legitimate requests. Please note that we will not release records where it might be to the detriment of wildlife or where we suspect that the information will be used to interfere illegally with protected species.

Format

Information is usually provided in the form of GIS maps, site summaries and species lists. However, we can also provide distribution maps and general information about a habitat or species (drawn from published sources). Information is provided in paper format or Acrobat (.pdf) format. If you wish to obtain large datasets or computerised information please contact us.

Important

BMERC does not provide planning advice and will not offer an opinion as to whether a planning application should be approved or accepted

For more information call 01296 696012 or email erc@buckscc.gov.uk

Related files (you need Acrobat Reader to open):

Environmental Records