Bats
Bat Surveys and Mitigation
Our bat ecologists hold the necessary licences for undertaking bat surveys and developing appropriate bat mitigation. Our clients receive a bespoke approach to each of their projects to ensure their development needs are met.
All British bats are legally protected and it is an offence to kill, capture, or disturb them, or to damage, destroy or obstruct access to their roosts. If a roost is affected by a development, then a European protected species licence is likely to be needed before development works can start.
Initial Assessment
An initial assessment of a building, structure or tree will identify the potential for roosting bats and identify if further surveys are required to ascertain the presence of bats. A report which is suitable for planning permission will be published; this will identify potential impacts on protected species that may occur, suggest mitigation measures and any further work required. This report will be submitted with the planning application and the relevant planning ecologist for comment; if evidence of bats is found, further surveys will be required.
Further Survey Work
When a roost or potential roost site has been identified a detailed assessment of the building, structure or tree is required to confirm the presence of a roost. This will involve licenced bat ecologists carrying out nocturnal surveys with handheld bat detectors and remote Anabat detectors to determine the location of roosts and the species and number present in each roost. Following these further surveys, if a bat roost has been identified then a licence application will need to be made to Natural England.
Licence Application
Once planning permission has been approved a licence application can be made to Natural England, once the application has been processed it can take up to one month to receive a response. The application requires a mitigation 'method statement' describing how bats will be conserved on site after development. Typical mitigation includes avoiding sensitive times of year, supervision of demolition by a licenced ecologist, fitting special roof tiles to provide bat access points and design and build of replacement roosts.
Survey Timings
Initial surveys can be carried out throughout the year. Nocturnal surveys can only be carried between late May and early September when bats occupy summer roost sites and the status of a roost can be reliably assessed. Due to survey constraints it is always best to deal with the ecological issues in the early stages of your project so there are no delays at a later date.
We work across the North East offering our services at highly competitive rates and covenant all our profits to Durham Wildlife Trust. Our pragmatic and personal approach allows us to provide a bespoke service for each individual client when dealing with development issues. Mitigation designs are always discussed and agreed with our clients so the best possible design can be created which is subtle within the proposed development, whilst still providing the necessary mitigation for bats.
To discuss your project further please call the office on 01388 488885, or if you would like to request a fee quote for your project contact us by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with your contact details and the necessary details of the project.