Three Shires Capability Statement

Established in 1995, Three Shires Ltd is known by Main Contractors, Developers and Consultants, as a Specialist Environmental Contractor to the Construction Industry, with experienced staff located across Leicestershire (HQ), South Wales, Dorset and The North West, providing our services nationwide. 

Our suite of contracting services includes large scale site clearance, arboriculture works, the design and implementation of all types of ecological mitigation and enhancement measures, habitat creation and management, fencing and landscaping, and the design and implementation of invasive weed solutions. Alongside our contracting business, Three Shires Ltd also has an experienced team of Ecological and Heritage Consultants that can support your scheme for the duration of the project lifecycle. 

With a client list spanning every sector of industry, our specialist teams are experienced in Rail, Highways, Utilities, Commercial and Residential Construction Environments and have worked on some of the country's most high profile and prestigious projects. Our ecological survey and appraisal team liaise closely with our contracting team, utilising their experience and knowledge to innovate when finding solutions to any site constraints. 

With experience of hundreds of licensed ecological schemes in all sectors of industry, no other ecological appraisal and contracting team can do more to move your project forward. 

Our in-house team of specialists provides the full range of ecological services that can support your scheme, from concept to completion. More specifically, we can assist you with the initial concept design, data gathering, site survey and appraisal, planning support, supervision of demolition and site clearance work, and the design and delivery of detailed mitigation, habitat creation and enhancement measures on-site.

• Preliminary Ecological Appraisal 
• Full Suite of Protected Species Surveys 
• European Protected Species Licensing
• Badger & Water Vole Licensing
• Barn Owl Inspections 
• Breeding Bird Surveys 
• Wintering and Vantage Point Bird Surveys 
• Invertebrate Surveys 
• River Habitat Surveys 
• Chytridiomycosis Testing 
• Species eDNA Testing 
• Invasive Species Surveys 
• Tree Climbing Surveys for Bats 
• Ecological Clerk of Works 
• Liaison with Stakeholders and LPA 

Key Licenses:

• NE Bat Survey & Handling - Class 2, 3 and 4
• NE Great Crested Newt - Class 1
• NE Hazel Dormice - Class 1
• NE Smooth Snake and Sand Lizard - Class 1

• Ecological Impact Assessments (EcIA) 
• Scoping Reports 
• Ecological Chpt for Environmental Statements 
• Constraints and Opportunity Studies 
• Habitat Regulations Assessments 
• Construction and Environmental Mangement Plans 
• Landscape and Ecological Management Plans 
• Precautionary Avoidance Method Statements 
• Biodiversity Net Gain Calculations 
• BREEAM Assessments 

• EPS for Bats, Great Crested Newt, Dormice
• NE Badger Development
• NE Water Vole Displacement
• NE Barn Owl

In addition to the Standard Bat Survey and Assessment services that we provide, members of our in-house team hold the necessary licenses and skill set to carry out the full range of Advanced Bat Survey Techniques (ABST). 

ABST may be required when an adverse direct or indirect impact on bats is deemed likely to occur at a landscape level, when the impact may affect multiple species and populations, or when standard survey techniques are deemed insufficient to capture the level of data required to inform detailed Mitigation and compensation measures.

ABST surveys involve the temporary capture of Bats on-site through the use of mist nets and harp traps. Capturing bats in this manner enables the bat to be examined in hand for the purpose of confirming the species, sex, reproductive status and age. Depending on the scope of the project, in some instances, it may be necessary for captured bats to be fitted with a radio tag. This allows individuals to be tracked across the landscape to their roosts, foraging grounds and to pin­ point their flight routes. 

The use of ABST is an efficient way to provide robust, detailed and accurate survey data to support planning applications, inform European Protected Species Mitigation Licences (EPSML) and to tailor mitigation/ habitat creation and enhancement measures, increasing the likelihood that these will be correctly sited and effective. 

• To confirm roost locations in woodlands 
• To confirm if cryptic species (those that are difficult to identify using Sonogram e.g. Myotis spp. or Barbastelle) are present on-site 
• To determine how Bats are utilising a site (roosting, commuting and foraging) 
• To assess the home range of Bats 
• To confirm/negate likely severance impacts 
• To determine whether Bats from a Roost are also using an alternative roost within their range 
• To inform the appropriate siting of replacement roosts (optimising the likelihood of their colonisation) 
• To inform the locations of woodland planting corridors/other green infrastructure

The use of ABST presents a number of advantages to the client over standard Bat survey methods. They can often provide a more cost effective and efficient approach to the gathering of data, particularly when complex mitigation measures are required involving multiple Bat species. 

Furthermore, when providing alternative Roost sites, depending on the rarity of the Bat species using the Roost, and the type of Roost to be lost, proof of occupation (prior to the removal of any existing Roost) is sometimes required. This can result in costly delays to a scheme. A thorough understanding of flight paths, foraging areas and Roost requirements facilitates the design of appropriately sited, species specific mitigation measures, that are more likely to be colonised quickly by the resident Bat population. 

The use of radio tracking as a survey methodology can also provide cost savings to the client, on the basis that the level of manpower required to gather sufficient evidence to inform large or complex schemes, is often reduced. Following Trapping, for up to 10 days bats, fitted with an activated tag, can be tracked to the roost. This approach can capture the usage of multiple Roosts by an individual/colony of Bats. In addition, the use of triangulation methods enables surveyors to cover greater distances within the tracking period of up to 10 square kilometres. 

The use of ABST is also beneficial when detailed survey data is required for high impact or contentious schemes, or when there is the risk that the scheme might be subject to a public enquiry.

Three Shires Ltd offers solutions for Heritage and Archaeological Mitigation through the use of both internal specialists and external partners. We are able to assist in pre-planning to assess, record and mitigate potential Archaeological impact, whether your enquiries are proactive or part of a scheme of investigation required for planning consent. In addition to providing planning support, whenever necessary, we also regularly liaise with the LPA and other key stakeholders. Our work is produced to the standards of the relevant Legislative and planning requirements including NPPF, Historic England and CIfA.

In addition to the production of reports, our Geomatics Specialists are able to offer Earthwork & Topographic Surveying, and are able to process any provided data, plus produce the necessary figures.

• Desk-based Assessments
• Heritage Impact Assessments
• Heritage Statements
• Written Schemes of Investigation [WSI]
• Earthwork Surveys & Topographic Mapping
• Light Detection & Ranging [LIDAR]
• Historic Map Regression
• Building Survey & Recording
• Archaeological Monitoring
• Archaeological Surveying
• Field Evaluations
• Geomatics & Data Processing
• Production of figures for as-builts and external reports.

Our specialists understand protected species legislation and are aware of the financial and timing impacts this can have on your project. If you are planning a scheme that may be affected by a protected species, we can help. We often work with clients at an early stage and this is when we add the most value. We can assist with the design and specification of ecological mitigation measures to ensure that they are viable and practical, provide accurate cost models for budgeting and create programmes for critical path planning on a project. We can give customers an early indication of the financial or timing impact of ecology and proactively reduce the risk. 

Three Shires Ltd portfolio encompasses a huge variety of Ecology, Environmental, Traditional Conservation and Countryside Management Services including: 

• Newt and reptile fencing 
• Badger fencing 
• Badger sett closure and sett construction 
• Otter fencing and otter holt construction 
• Pond and wetland creation 
• Habitat clearance, enhancement and management 
• Creation and enhancement of watercourses 
• Grassland translocation 
• Hedgerow translocation 
• Bat boxes including heated roosts 
• Hibernacula 

The Three Shires Ltd management and delivery base are trained to adapt to working around OHL's, buried services and restricted access locations. Our ground staff are experienced in working within a strict permit and legislative environment. 

Three Shires Ltd operates to the following standards:

ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System 

National Highways Sector Schemes (NHSS) 2A and 18A

ISO 14001: 2015 Environmental Management System

OHSMS 45001: 2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management System

Over the last 18 months, within England and Wales, Three Shires Ltd have installed over 300km of demarcation, stock post and Rail Fencing on major Power and Water projects, plus over 50km of Fencing for Highway and Rail Networks. Three Shires Ltd workforce have the skills and competencies required in any Construction environment.

• Stock Fencing
• Demarcation Fencing
• Post and Rail Fencing
• Security Palisade, Weld Mesh and Chain Link
• Highways Sector Scheme 2a
• Parapet and Handrail Fencing
• Site Hoarding Fencing

Our reputation in large scale clearance relies on Plant Operatives and Cutting Teams. In an extremely competitive market, our innovative equipment from Forestry Tractors, Timber Cranes and Harvester Heads to Mulchers and Tree Sheers, deliver market leading outputs. As well as working in the Forestry and Constructor sectors, we can accommodate sites that have particular Environmental contracts. For example, if work is required within a Site of Special Scientific Interest [SSSI], we can provide Low Impact Forestry Machines, with low PSI footprints, so-as to minimise damage/disturbance to Vegetation and avoid compaction of the Soil. 

• Forestry Management and Marketing
• Large Scale Site Clearance
• Technical Arboriculture & Tree Surgery
• Chipping & Mulching
• Woodland Thinning
• Timber Harvesting

We specialise in Japanese Knotweed remediation techniques, such as Herbicide Treatment,  (including Stem Injection), Cell Burial/Site Encapsulation, Soil Screening, Managed & Monitored Excavation, and in the installation of Root Barrier Membranes.

Our Team has provided Invasive Weed Solutions on projects throughout the UK, including Wembley Park, Rampion Wind Farm and Euston Station development for HS2.

We can provide solutions for:

• Japanese Knotweed
• Himalayan Balsam
• Giant Hogweed
• Aquatic Invasive
• Rhododendron
• Common Ragwort

•  Buddleja
• Japanese Rose
• Bramble
• Bamboo
• Giant Rhubarbs
• Horsetail

Recent schemes include:

• HS2
• DP World London Thames Gateway
• E.ON Humber Gateway
• Statoil Dudgeon Project
• E.ON Rampion Project
• RWE Galloper Wind Farm
• Scottish Power Renewables East Anglia One
• NG & Scottish Power Transmission Western Link

• Knaresborough to Bramham OHL
• Dealy-Denny Replacement Transmission Line
• Transport Scotland Forth Roadbridge
• Development of mixed-use site - Land at Gallows Hill, Warwickshire
• Development of mixed-use site - Lea Castle Hospital, Worcestershire
• Framework Projects for Network Rail