Bat presence / absence surveys were undertaken at a Grade II Listed Building in Cheshire from May to June 2018. The client wished to undertake repair works and improvements to the roof and loft in order to ensure the long-term future of this historic building following a timber decay survey.
The building, a 17th century farmhouse, was inspected and found to contain scattered bat droppings and feeding remains of orange underwing (Archiearis parthenias) moths, consistent with the casual use of the structure by low numbers of brown long-eared bats.
Emergence and re-entry surveys were carried out as part of the presence / absence surveys of the building. These surveys were carried out to recognised guidelines, with particular reference to Natural England and Bat Conservation Trust publications. Dusk emergence surveys begin 15 minutes before sunset and continue until a minimum of 90 minutes after sunset. Dawn re-entry surveys begin at least 90 minutes before sunrise, and continue for 15 minutes after sunrise. By following these guidelines, bats can be observed emerging or returning to roost and therefore highlight the location and type of roost present.
With regard to this case, the building supported two common pipistrelle roosts beneath raised roof tiles and within wooden boxed soffits with a maximum of three common pipistrelles roosting in the building. Combined with the droppings and feeding remains of brown long-eared bats, the building is used by a low number of bats on a casual basis. Consequently, this development would normally need to proceed under a European Protected Species Licence (EPSL) or a bat low impact class licence (BLICL). However, due to the limited and unobtrusive nature of the repair works, this development could proceed by a more pragmatic approach, provided it followed the reasonable avoidance measures designed by our team at UES. In this way, all bat species were ensured protection, whilst this historic building could be repaired without unnecessary delay.
For more information on the services provided in this case study please click the below links: