Bat Survey Cambridge: Protected Species

When initiating any development work in and around Cambridge, performing a bat survey is imperative to address ecological concerns. A survey will identify the presence of bats within buildings, trees, and structures on and around a project site.

Local authorities, such as Cambridge City Council, will usually notify you if a bat survey is needed during the planning application process. The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations was introduced in 2017 to protect species on all sites across the UK, especially those at risk of negative impact from a nearby development.

All bat species, their chosen breeding sites, and roost sites are protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Provisions included within the act for bats state that it is illegal to unnecessarily kill, injure, or destroy the habitat of any roosting bat in the UK. Therefore, bat mitigation and compensation measures are crucial when seeking a planning permission grant so as to avoid disapproval of development proposals.

Preliminary Roost Assessment: A Preliminary Roost Assessment (PRA) is an initial survey to establish whether bats are likely to be roosting in a specific building or structure.

This assessment is crucial in the process of assessing the potential impact of project development on bat species on the site and in the area. Our consultants will excavate the internal and external areas of a site and record any evidence of roosting bats.

Bat emergence and re-entry surveys: If necessary, after a Preliminary roost survey, a bat emergence survey or a re-entry survey will typically be performed to monitor further bat activity, such as monitoring entry and exit points to any building types to provide information on the bat’s behaviour, such as specific roosting spots, breeding and feeding rituals

These surveys are carried out multiple times over day and night to collect adequate data. Our consultants use bat protective technology such as thermal imaging cameras and bat detectors to limit unnecessary disturbance to the bats.

Nocturnal bat surveys: Nocturnal bat surveys are often carried out in the UK as all bats that reside here are nocturnal and produce echolocation sounds in the dark. Therefore, a great indication of their behaviour and activity can be recorded during the night.

Collington Winter is an environmental consultancy that works alongside licenced protected species surveyors and bat conservation trusts to protect endangered species across the UK. Our team hold Natural England bat licences and European Protected Species licenses, which are beneficial in supporting our work protecting endangered species that may be impacted by a wide range of new project developments.

Please contact our Managing Director, Olivia Collington (info@collingtonwinter.co.uk) for more information on our ecological services and Cambridge bat survey work, including badger surveys. We also provide Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) services and Landscape architectural services.