Bat Survey Anglesey: Protected Species

During planning development, conducting a bat survey or assessment is an important commitment to support bat mitigation and habitat preservation. If local planning authorities discover that these arrangements have not taken place, they have legal authority to intervene with the project development and delay its progress, supported by legislation such as The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Should a bat survey record bat presence on the proposed site, project developers have a duty of care to prevent the bats from suffering from injury, death, or any disruption to their habitat. As bats are now considered at risk of extinction, bat surveys and assessments are legally required for planning permission to be granted with the aim of mitigating further damage to the bat population.

Bat survey requirements can vary depending on several factors relating to the proposed development site; the following bat activity assessments are to be expected during the process:

Preliminary Roost Assessment:  A Preliminary Roost Assessment (PRA) is to be undertaken first to determine the presence of roosting bats in a proposed development site building, including surrounding trees and greenery.

This assessment is an important first step in the process of assessing the potential impact of project development on bat species on the site and in the area. The consultants which we provide will carry out both internal and external inspections of the building site, looking for signs of roosting bats, such as insect-feeding remains and bat droppings.

Bat emergence survey and re-entry surveys: Once a Preliminary Roost Assessment has been completed, a bat emergence and re-entry survey typically follow given evidence of bats residing on the site. The bat consultant will monitor any bat entry or exit points to gather information on the location, bat species, and bat population.

These surveys may be required on numerous occasions for a considerable amount of time until a bat surveyor believes a sufficient range of data has been gathered. Our ecological consultants use bat detectors to record and analyse calls without causing any disturbance to the bats.

Nocturnal bat surveys: A nocturnal bat survey is a type of ecological survey conducted in the night to observe and record bat species’ activity and behaviour. These surveys provide necessary data on bat populations, help to identify species, and assess the bats’ living habitats. Nocturnal bat surveys often compliment ecological assessments, conservation efforts, and impact assessments related to development projects.

Once the bat surveyor has reached a conclusion and is satisfied that the results of the survey provide sufficient insights into how a project development may pose a risk to any residing bats, a guide of recommendations will be presented. These recommendations should be implemented and included in your planning proposal to ensure your planning application is positively received by local planning authorities.

Although recommendations will be tailored to best suit every site, common recommendations include the provision of new roost spaces for bats in the form of bat boxes, which can be made of wood or integrated into the infrastructure. Integrating insect-inviting plants can provide a stable food source for roosting bats and encourage wider species conservation.

Our ecological consultants will assess what is best for your project development and provide you with targeted recommendations to best suit your site development proposal plan.

Collington Winter Environmental is a team of ecological consultants that can offer protected species assessment services to all kinds of project developments within and outside of the bat season. We have extensive experience in providing bat ecologist services, including preliminary root assessments, bat emergence and re-entry surveys and nocturnal bat surveys.

Get in touch with our Managing Director, Olivia Collington (info@collingtonwinter.co.uk) for more information on other habitat services we provide, such as other protected species surveys. We also provide ecological appraisal and assessment services, as well as landscape architecture services to support your project.