SERC covers the administrative county of Somerset – this does not include North Somerset or Bath and North East Somerset – for these areas you will need to contact Bristol Environmental Records Centre. You can also check if your site is in our area using the search facility here.
Data Searches
Please use the MyLERC service for:
Commercial (Ecological Consultants, Planning Consultants, Developers etc.)
Parish Council (Help in developing Parish Plans, this is for Parish Councils ONLY)
Non-Commercial (public, interested parties).
Landowner (for landowners directly – agents and consultants working on behalf of landowners need to use the commercial search options).
For all other requests such as Academic please see below.
Our data search service is provided by a third-party known as MyLERC. SERC will no longer process invoices or payments as part of this new system. Pricing for the new service is available on the MyLERC website, along with the new supplier details.
For those of you who may have used MyLERC before. Your existing account will work with us the same as it does for the other LERCs already using the service. For those of you who haven’t, a MyLERC – Create Account will need to be set up. This account can then be used with us or any of the other five LERCs that currently use this system.
Some of the key features of the MyLERC system include:
- Complete control over where the search is submitted, be that by point/location, polygon, or polyline.
- The ability to filter data by a number of parameters to suit your needs.
- The ability to create your own maps as required.
- The ability to download data as required, either in its entirety or by filter.
- Continued access to the data for periods of 6 months or more.
- Rapid turnaround time, typically within 2 hours of confirmation (99% of submissions) but no more than 2 days (less than 1% of submissions).
- Clear pricing structure that allows you to view the cost as you’re selecting or building your package.
If you have any queries, please send them through to Ellen via the data.supply@somerc.com email.
Commercial Searches
Please see above.
Academic Searches
This service caters for requests for academic research – for example, a project looking into a particular species or taxonomic group. These requests are reviewed case-by-case, so please read the Academic Data Request Policy below to ensure you are requesting the appropriate search.
Academic Data Search Policy – updated Dec 2025
Academic Data Search Form – updated Dec 2025
Neighbourhood/Community Planning Searches
This service caters for Parish Councils or Neighbourhoods thinking about Neighbourhood or Community Planning. There is a fee for this service.
Please refer to the information provided below, searches for this service will commence on the 1st October as advised at the top of this page.
Planning Information and advice for local residents.
Neighbourhood/Community Planning
Data Search Guidance Notes – Neighbourhood/Community Planning