Water voles: strategic licences
Find out about the strategic licence trial for work that affects water voles in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Thurrock or Southend-on-Sea.
Applies to England
Expressions of interest for this licence closed on 13 April 2026.
The trial period for this strategic licence for water voles closes on 30 June 2026.
You may be eligible for other water vole licences.
A strategic licence is a new type of licence being developed by Natural England to:
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improve the conservation status of water voles by addressing the biggest threats and opportunities across the landscape
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make the regulatory process easier and more efficient for applicants
You need a licence if your work will affect water voles. This includes if you may need to:
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disturb them while they are in a place they use for shelter or protection
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damage or destroy places they use for shelter or protection
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stop water voles accessing places they use for shelter or protection
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take them
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kill or injure them (additional restrictions apply)
This strategic licence has been trialled as an alternative to a water vole mitigation or class licence and offers some advantages. With a strategic licence you:
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do not need to carry out your own surveys of water voles
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get clarity earlier on your eligibility, and mitigation and compensation requirements
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benefit from increased flexibility during licensed works in most areas
Eligibility
This strategic licence trial is available for projects:
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based in Norfolk, Suffolk Essex, Thurrock or Southend-on-Sea
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for reasons of overriding public interest (including development) or to preserve public health and safety
We use a risk zone map to assess licence and compensation requirements. You can view and download the risk zone map for water voles from ArcGIS Online or the Natural England Open Data Geoportal.
Expressions of interest for this licence closed on 13 April 2026. You can no longer begin an application. If you have already been granted an Impact Assessment and Conservation Payment Certificate (IACPC), the last date a signed IACPC certificate can be submitted is 12 June 2026. The trial period for this strategic licence closes on 30 June 2026.
Find out how Natural England uses personal information from expressions of interest.
Compensation costs
Applicants need to evidence an agreed financial contribution toward compensation to qualify for a licence. This requirement could be replaced by a discretionary charge in the future.
Licence costs
There is a set licence fee of £700 (exempt from VAT). You do not need to pay the licence fee if the purpose of your development is to preserve public health and safety. Read the terms and conditions for paying for a wildlife licence.
There are currently no discretionary charges for this licence. We plan to introduce discretionary charges for this licence in the future.
How to pay
We will send you an invoice if we approve your application.
You can pay by:
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electronic bank transfer
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debit or credit card by telephone (except American Express)
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cheque
Your invoice will give details for these payment methods.
You need to include the invoice number with your payment so we can match it to your application.
VAT does not apply to charges for wildlife licences.
We accept purchase orders. If you want us to add a purchase number to your invoice, you must include it in the invoice details in the application form.
Future of the scheme
This trial period for the strategic licence for water voles closes on 30 June 2026. After this, we will evaluate the application process and the licence and use any insights to improve the scheme in the future. If the trial period is successful, the strategic licence could be introduced in other parts of England.
If you’d like more information about the scheme, you can email the team at WaterVoleSCS@naturalengland.org.uk