Bats

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Please do talk to me as soon as you can about your development. I can conduct preliminary surveys in the daytime at any time of year, looking for evidence of, or potential of the site to support bats, and the sooner we get started the less unnecessary delays you may have.

Local Planning Authorities are required by law to take account of the presence of protected species including bats, when considering applications for planning permission, and may refuse applications until they have all the necessary information.

Where evidence or potential roost features are found, presence/absence surveys are conducted at dusk and roost characterization surveys before dawn. These surveys use infra-red cameras to see in the dark to watch for bat activity long after I have been unable to see. This combination of surveys will be used to produce a report and mitigation plan suitable for obtaining planning permission.

If bats are present and planning permission is granted, work will likely need to be conducted under a mitigation licence from Natural England or Natural Resources Wales. I can help you with applying for and actioning this licence, to ensure your project moves as smoothly as possible.

The UK has 18 species of bat, all of which are microbats which only eat insects and can be found roosting in a variety of habitats from caves, crevices and roof spaces. UK bats have bodies around 3-5cm long, wingspans of around 20-40cm, and can weigh as little as 3g. Despite their small size they are ravenous feeders, with individual bats eating up to 3,000 midges each night in summer.

They will use hedgerows and tree lines to find their way back to the same roosts each night, as well as other linear landscape features such as rivers and streams, and connected gardens. Different bats have different needs, from different preferred foods, roost access requirements and roosting requirements.

Bats and their roosts are now protected by law because all species have declined, and others are threatened or endangered. A roost is defined as any place that a wild bat uses for shelter or protection, and the roost is protected whether the bat is present at that time of year or not. Legislation makes it an offence to:

• Deliberately capture, injure or kill a bat
• Deliberately disturb any bat
• Damage or destroy a breeding site or resting place of a bat
• Intentionally or recklessly obstruct access to any place that a bat uses for shelter or protection
• Be in possession or control of any live or dead bat or any part of, or anything derived from a bat.