New homes can need contributions to mitigate effects on Epping Forest Special Area of Conservation, or SAC. Recreation and air-pollution mitigation are separate, so a recreation tariff may not cover everything. [1]
Which developments are affected?
The council identifies additional recreational pressure from new residential development within 6.2km of the SAC. Its guidance includes net additional dwellings authorised through planning permission and prior approval. For air pollution, it warns that development anywhere in the district may be relevant if it increases vehicle movements affecting the forest; the recreation radius is not an all-purpose exemption boundary. [1]
The 2021 Strategic Access Management and Monitoring strategy, or SAMM, explains what recreation mitigation supports: managing paths and visitor hubs, helping visitors avoid damaging behaviour, and monitoring use and ecological conditions. It addresses the additional pressure associated with development rather than simply purchasing permission to build. [2]
What contribution should be budgeted?
The council's live guidance reproduces recreation amounts agreed on 11 April 2022: £1,852.63 per additional dwelling within 0–3km and £343.02 within 3–6.2km. These are historical published figures; obtain a current, itemised calculation for your project. [1]
Ask for a written calculation identifying the mapped zone, additional dwellings, applicable recreation and air-pollution amounts, any green-infrastructure contribution, and the total payable under the proposed obligation. The council's May 2026 undertaking guidance provides separate entries for these items and specifies a monitoring contribution of 5% of the total contribution. That document does not itself establish a universal current total per dwelling. [3]
Legal work is another separate issue. The council provides a dedicated EFSAC undertaking template and explains its legal-fee arrangements. Do not assume the published recreation amount includes the cost of drafting or checking the obligation. [4]
Payment does not replace the habitat assessment
National guidance requires the competent authority to assess whether a project may affect a protected site's integrity, including cumulative effects with other projects. Where mitigation is relied on, its effectiveness and delivery must support the assessment conclusion. An offer to pay is therefore not a substitute for the ecological evidence and an enforceable mitigation package. [5]
How is the obligation prepared?
- Establish the planning proposal, ownership and title details before completing the relevant council template. Include any mortgagee details required by the guidance. [3]
- Ask the planning officer to confirm the contributions and mitigation that need securing. Use the EFSAC-only template only where it fits the required obligations. [1][4]
- Submit the draft undertaking for the council's legal approval before execution. The May 2026 guidance specifically says not to date the document during preparation. [3]
Obtain legal advice on the undertaking before signing it, as the council's own guidance recommends. [4]
Do small-site BNG exemptions remove SAC contributions?
No automatic equivalence should be assumed. From 6 August 2026, the BNG rules introduced an exemption for sites of 0.2 hectares or less within the application red line, but that exemption does not apply where priority habitat would be impacted. They also removed the separate self/custom-build exemption for new applications from that date. Those are BNG provisions, not an exemption from habitats assessment or the SAC mitigation process. [6][5]
An air-quality issue still needs checking
The council's applicant page links to its January 2025 statement and Natural England's December 2024 letter about further air-quality work. Those documents do not establish that mitigation has been abolished. Obtain the current assessment position for the actual project rather than treating discussion of revised modelling or alternative measures as an approved exemption. [7][8]