Before plans are made for a site, or indeed sometimes before a site is purchased, it may be worth a quick reconnaissance to identify potential ecological constraints to development, such as the presence of protected habitats, the likelihood of protected species occurring and the presence of undesirable species such as Japanese Knotweed. This knowledge may be central to making initial decisions re the type, location and timing of a development.
Recently increasing numbers of developers are finding this a useful stage in project planning and no doubt more developers have regretted not commissioning this relatively cheap site inspection before committing funding to a project.