What Is A Bat Survey?
A bat survey can ensure you take all the necessary steps to avoid long term damage or impact to a pre-existing bat population, while still seeing your project come to fruition.
A bat survey will determine what species of bat are present, estimate numbers of bats, find bat access points, and assess how and when bats are using the building. Finding bats is a skilled operation and building owners or managers will need to commission a bat specialist consultant licensed by Natural England.
Why Are Bats Protected In The UK?
Bats play an essential role in pest control, pollinating plants and dispersing seeds. All bat species in the UK are protected by law because their numbers have declined so dramatically. The decline is due to loss of feeding habitats and flight lines, loss of insects to feed on, and development affecting roosts. Bats are becoming more reliant on urban habitats, where they roost in buildings and forage in nearby wooded parks and gardens.
They are protected by international and domestic legislation; namely, the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 and Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.
When Might You Need To Undertake A Bat Survey?
If you are planning to undertake work on a property that you own, or are in the process of purchasing, where you might interfere, disturb or disrupt a bat in its natural habitat then you will likely need to undertake a bat survey
Local authorities are obliged as part of their local planning policies to ensure the conservation of biodiversity, including bats and other species protected under the European Habitats Directive. As a result, they need to assess every planning application against these criteria and will make a judgement on your application. You will need to undertake a survey if there is a ‘reasonable likelihood’ of bats being present.
How Do You Conduct A Bat Survey?
A bat survey will be needed to be conducted during bat survey season and will need to be conducted by a licensed bat surveyor. As bats often roost in inaccessible crevices there may be no obvious signs of their presence on the outside of a building. Therefore, it is likely to be necessary for a bat specialist to conduct a daytime preliminary roost assessment followed by further surveys. Initial roost inspection surveys can be carried out at any time of year, however surveys that require bats to be active are carried out from May to August. Historic England have a handy table of the recommended months for different survey types >> click here to view.
How Long Are Bat Surveys Valid For?
Typically, bat surveys are valid for one to two years. However, there is a risk that out-of-date bat surveys can impact building plans and will need to be addressed at a later date, therefore both private developments as well as commercial developments should be mindful of ensuring the bat surveys conducted are in date.
Should You Get A Bat Survey Before Applying For Planning Permission?
It is advised that you carry out a bat survey as early as possible in the process, particularly if there are any signs of potential bat activity. This will save you having to consider the costs of mitigation later on in a project, at a point where it may be too late, and you may find you are engaging in illegal activity. This will also ensure you can implement any necessary actions before the bat survey season begins.
Do You Still Need To Get A Bat Survey Even If You Think You Don’t Have Bats?
If the building or development even has a small chance of bats being present, we recommend it is worth commissioning a survey to ensure no bats are present.
What Do I Do If Bats Are Discovered?
If bats are discovered after a Preliminary Roost Assessments, then phase 2 of the survey will include a more detailed assessment of the area to establish how the feature is being used and by what species. Unlike the Preliminary Roost Assessment, the phase 2 survey must be conducted within a certain time period (between May and September), as this is when bats are most active. This is generally referred to as the bat survey season, and it is vital that any necessary bat survey preparation bears this timeframe in mind. This enables ecologists to actively measure their presence, in order to establish the exact impact of a potential project on the bats present.
Some mitigation can be undertaken to enable you to continue with your planned development, however often this can only be undertaken by acquiring a bat licence. The type of bat licence should be discussed with an ecologist but may include either a full licence or bat mitigation class licence (BMCL). The BMCL is only available for certain species and is aimed at low impact situations and is a special type of licence restricted to only some ecologists.
VKB Building Consultancy do not undertake bat survey’s, but we work with lots of fantastic professionals and would be more than happy to recommend someone, so please do get in touch.