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planning-applications.co.uk |
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BATS
All
British bat species and their roosts are legally protected under the Wildlife and
Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) because of the dramatic declines in their
populations over recent decades. The causes of the declines, which include the
loss of suitable roosting sites, are generally the result of human activities.
Under
section 9 of the Act it is an offence to intentionally kill, injure or capture
(apart from for welfare reasons) a bat, and to damage, destroy or obstruct
access to any place used by bats, even when bats are apparently absent, or to
disturb bats were asked roosting.
Section
10 provides a defence for those carrying out work which may affect that's or
their roosts. This can only be relied on however, if English Nature has been
consulted over the intended work and been given a reasonable time in which to
provide advice.
Under
section 69, the Directors, Managers and Secretaries or similar persons
specifying work to be done are responsible for ensuring that the work is
carried out within the law.
English
Nature should be consulted before any operation is carried out that may affect
bats or their roosts, even when the bats are apparently absent. A reasonable
time should be allowed for a reply with advice before work is started. The
advice will include how best to go about the work to ensure that any
disturbance to the bats is kept to a minimum.
The
presence of a bat roost does not mean that no work can be done on that building
it simply means that the timing and how the work is done may need to be
adapted. A consultation with English Nature at an early stage is therefore
important.
British
bats are not large creatures and can access their roost through gaps as small
as a 50 mm (two inches) by 10 mm. Bats are normally most of fierce during their
summer breeding period a (late May to early September) when they might be visible
within the roost base or in the Gable end cavity wall. If there are droppings
present but no gaps of visible, it may be that the bats are roosting out of
sight. It is important to contact English Nature if there is any possibility of
a property having a bat roost (the presence of one bad constitutes a bat
roost).
English
Nature works with the volunteers who are generally it members of the local bat
group. These people are licensed by English Nature to enter bat roosts and
handle them if necessary. When contacted for advice, English Nature will
normally arranged for a volunteer to visit the property and reported back to
enable the advice given to be accurate and specific to each case.
The
summer breeding colonies do not gather until mid to late May, and once in
residence, they stay for the next few months. Brown long-eared bats often
hibernate in roof spaces a over winter. The most common advice when they bat
roost is present is for the work to be carried out either in the autumn,
between mid-September to mid-October, or in the spring between late April and
mid-May.
Young
bats are dependent on to their mothers until the end of the summer, and
normally colonies disperse at this time. Some bats may be present in the roost
in both the spring and autumn periods mentioned, particularly in the roof
spaces of older houses. It is therefore advisable for a volunteer to check the
roost just before work is to be done, when any bat in residents can be
carefully removed and held in captivity by the Volunteer until the roof is safe
to re-enter. The bats are then returned to the roost, relatively unaffected by
captivity by the experience. The bats are then returned to the roost,
relatively unaffected by their experience.
It is
vital when carrying out roofing treatments that bat-friendly chemicals are
used, so that the bats are not poisoned by the residue left once the treatment
is completed and tried. A list of bat-friendly chemicals is available from
English Nature.
The Brown Long-eared bat is the second
most common species in
The Pipistrelle is
Further
information can be obtained from:
The
Bat Conservation Trust
15 Cloisters House
Tel: 020 7501 3636
Fax: 020 7627 2628
www.bats.org.uk/