Bat Survey Barnstaple: Protected Species

Bat surveys are often obligatory to complete during a project development plan to support ecological concerns within a planning application. A survey will purposefully identify the presence of bats within buildings, trees, and structures belonging to a project site. A local planning authority will usually let you know if a bat survey is required during the planning process and have published guidelines to assist the surveyance process. The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 was introduced to protect species on all sites across the UK, especially those at risk of project development impacts.

All bat species and their roosts are protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. If bats are present on a site, it is illegal to deliberately capture, injure or obstruct access to bats by damaging a bat roost or bat habitat. Therefore, Bat mitigation and compensation measures must be undertaken before any planning permission is granted and a project can go ahead.

Preliminary Roost Assessment:  A Preliminary Roost Assessment (PRA) is an initial survey or assessment that determines whether bats are likely to be roosting in a specific building or structure. The PRA is an important first step in the process of assessing the potential impact of development or renovation projects on bat populations and their bat roosts. Our consultants will undertake various inspections to examine internal and external signs of bat roosts, including remains that indicate feeding rituals and bat droppings.

Bat emergence and re-entry surveys: Bat emergence and re-entry surveys are usually the next step following a bat scoping survey or a preliminary roost assessment if it has been concluded that bat presence has been detected in the location. The bat worker will monitor any entry and exit points to gather information about bat location, bat species, and bat population. Emergence surveys will take place on multiple occasions over an amount of time until a range of sufficient data has been collected. Our ecological consultants use bat detectors to record and analyse calls without causing disturbance to the bats. 

Nocturnal bat surveys: A nocturnal bat survey is a type of ecological survey conducted during the night to observe and record the behaviour patterns of bat species. As bat activity increases during this time, nighttime surveys are efficient for monitoring bat populations, identifying species, and assessing their habitats. A nocturnal bat survey is highly beneficial to the conservation of habitats, ecological assessments, and the determination of the nature of the impact on the surrounding environment of development projects.

 For Good Practice Guidance for Bats, visit the Chartered Institute of Ecology website.

The Collington Winter Environmental ecologist team hold Natural England bat licences and European Protected Species licenses, working with licenced bat surveyors and bat conservation trusts to protect endangered species across the UK that may be impacted by new project developments.

Please contact our Managing Director Olivia Collington (info@collingtonwinter.co.uk), for more information on our ecological services and Devon bat survey work, including bat surveys and reptile surveys. We also provide preliminary ecological appraisal (PEA) and assessment services.