Bat Surveys Birdham: Protected Species Surveys

Bat Surveys, Birdham, are a crucial part of the planning and development process, helping to ensure full compliance with environmental legislation. These assessments are required across the UK for a wide range of projects regardless of size. Bats are classified as European Protected Species, with their roosting and resting sites legally safeguarded under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.

Local planning authorities, including those overseeing Birdham, may request a bat survey is a proposed development poses a potential risk to local bat populations, where bats are thought to be present, appropriate ecological surveys and mitigation measures must be provided to support planning applications and protect these important species.

Bat Surveys should be carried out between May and September, when bats are most active, and surveys are most reliable. If summer surveys confirm bat presence, additional winter surveys may be required to check for hibernation activity.

For more local insight into bat conservation in the area, resources such as the Sussex Bat Group can be provide additional and up-to-date infomation.

• Preliminary Roost Assessment (PRA): Visual inspection of signs of bat use.
• Dusk and Dawn Surveys: Detection of emergence and re-entry using specialist equipment.
• Nocturnal Surveys: Monitoring bat activity patterns and species via echolocation.

At Collington Winter Environmental, we offer professional ecological consultancy services specifically designed to meet these planning and legal requirements. Our expert team of licensed ecologists holds Natural England Protected Species Licences, ensuring that our work is both fully compliant and environmentally responsible.

To arrange bat surveys in Birdham or discuss our broader ecological services – including further Protected Species work, PEAs and landscape architecture – please get in touch at info@collingtonwinter.co.uk. Alternatively, you can conatc us by filling in the enquiry form below, or speak to a member of the team at 01204939608.