Request data

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.

Important Update

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 new data search service is being 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. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Existing, outstanding invoices will be collected by SERC. 

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. 

Once again, we thank you for the patience you have shown and very much look forward to working with you in the future. If you have any queries, please send them through to Ellen or Leon 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, and for Landowners seeking information about their land-holdings. These requests are normally free of charge, but SERC retains the right to charge a time based fee.

Data Search Request form – Academic

Data Search Guidance Notes – Academic

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