Ecology Surveys

Bat Surveys

In the UK, all bat species, their roosts and breeding sites are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Bats are also listed under Schedule 2 of the Conservation of Natural Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. This translates the EC Habitats directive (Council directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild flora and fauna) into UK law.

It means it is a criminal offence to:

• Deliberately or recklessly take, injure or kill a bat
• Deliberately or recklessly disturb a bat in its roost
• Damage or destroy a bat roosting place even if bats are not occupying the roost at the time
• Deliberately or recklessly disturb or obstruct a bat roost or bats whilst occupying a roost

You may need a bat survey report and mitigation plan if your works involve demolition, a conversion, alterations (particularly to roof structures), change of use, and the removal of trees and hedgerows. To prevent unnecessary delays, these should be completed before you apply for planning permission. Surveys need to show whether protected species are using the buildings or are present in the area. Mitigation plans will show how the proposed works will accommodate the bats, and avoid, reduce or manage any potential harm to them. A protected species licence will allow the works to be carried out legally.

Bat activity surveys can only be carried out when the bats are active, between May and September. Therefore, if you think you will have to carry out a bat survey as part of your building project, it is important to start planning for this from the start.

We’ll produce a detailed ecology report to submit as part of the planning application, alongside the design drawings. If bats are present we’ll also apply for a European Protected Species Licence. No works on site can start until this has been granted. Therefore, we advise that you ask about a bat survey as early as possible in the planning stages of your project as the overall timescales will depend on what the survey finds.