Need a bat survey in Cheshire?

Bat Surveys In Cheshire

If you are considering a property development in Cheshire, you may be required to submit a bat survey to the local council before you can secure planning permission. A bat survey will be needed if there is a likelihood of bats on your proposed site, or if your plans could potentially impact bats.

If bats are found, your planning project might be able to proceed, providing mitigation and compensation measures are carried out first to satisfy the local planning authority.

Cheshire bat habitat

Cheshire’s varied landscapes and towns provide a host of suitable bat habitats. Its wealth of medieval and period buildings offers roosting opportunities in slate roofs, behind weatherboards and hanging tiles, while agricultural buildings, loft conversions, and disused buildings also offer ideal shelter for many species of roosting bats. Cheshire’s rivers, including the Weaver and Dee, and waterways of the Mersey Basin attract insects that bats feed on, and ancient bridges spanning these waterways are often used by bats as a resting place.

Protection for bats

Bats are highly safeguarded as a European protected species: disturbing bats without local authority consent is a criminal offence and may result in severe sanctions including imprisonment. Legislation in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 protects bats and Schedule 2 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, protects all 17 European species of bat breeding in the UK, making it illegal to harm, disturb or destroy bat roosts or roost sites.

Despite the stringent laws protecting bats, local planning authorities across Cheshire will grant planning applications for developments providing the developer meets legal obligations and local plan conditions: planning applications must be mindful of the law surrounding protected species. Evidence must be provided that a planning project will not harm bats or their habitats: if bats are likely to be disturbed by development plans, an application must clarify appropriate mitigation and/or compensation measures.

Cheshire Council and development

While local authorities are promoting development in strategic areas of the county, environmental regulations are imposed on development projects.

Cheshire East Local Plan Strategy 2010-2030

The priority is jobs-led growth, focused on Crewe High Growth City, the M6 corridor and the North Cheshire Science Corridor, along with extending employment sites in main towns. The Local Plan Strategy document wants to protect against unsustainable development and while it aims to protect the green belt, some rolling back of green belt boundaries in certain towns is proposed to make the towns sustainable post 2030.

The strategy is to see housing and employment development in a variety of locations, with priority given to brownfield and town centre development first, with good quality new homes built in the right places. Protecting the area’s many conservation sites is a priority and these include the Peak District National Park, Bickerton and Peckforton Hills and Beeston Castle along with two Special Areas of Conservation, three Ramsar designations, 33 Sites of Special Scientific Interest and 416 sites of biological importance.

Cheshire West and Chester Local Plan

This plan supports a level of growth that’s higher than required to cater to future needs. The promotion of new housing and jobs in sustainable locations are key directives, alongside prioritising the preservation of natural and historic environments. Development must respect heritage assets and be high quality: newly built houses must be resilient and adaptable to climate change.

Chester’s historic character must be retained and preserved, with industrial expansion targeted at Ellesmere Port, Northwich and Winsford and development mainly directed within and on the edge of main urban areas. The Local Plan aims to maintain the extent of the North Cheshire Green Belt, improve the green infrastructure network and waterways, and adapt to climate change by addressing flood risk and water management issues.

Cheshire bat species

The following bat species have been recorded across the county: Brandt’s bat (Myotis brandtii), brown long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus), Daubenton’s bat (Myotis daubentonii), Leisler’s bat (Nyctalus leisleri), Natterer’s bat (Myotis nattereri), noctule bat (Nyctalus noctula), common pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus pipistrellus), soprano pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus pygmaeus) and whiskered bat (Myotis alcathoe).

Bat support groups

The Cheshire Bat Group protects bats and bat roosts across the county and offers education about bats, along with bat survey advice and research into bat activity in Cheshire, including areas of south Manchester, Warrington and the Wirral.

Bat groups across the country support protected species legislation that covers bats, while the Bat Conservation Trust is the overarching conservation body protecting bats. Detailed information about bats is available from the Bat Conservation Trust, Natural England and the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM).

The Bat Survey Process

The requirement for bat surveys may arise following bat sightings, a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal revealing the presence of bats, an Ecological Impact Assessment, or suitable bat habitat or bat roost features on or near a development site.

Stage 1: the Preliminary Roost Assessment (PRA).

The first stage bat survey involves an ecological surveyor inspecting a site and surrounding habitat for signs of bat activity, looking for bat roosts, hibernating bats, feeding remains, bat droppings, dead bat carcasses, and potential roost features. If no signs of roosting bats or bat roosts are found, no further surveys will be required, and the bat report can be used to support an application for planning consent.

If evidence of bats cannot be ruled out, further bat surveys known as Bat Emergence and Re-entry surveys will be needed. If bats are found, mitigating measures can be proposed to ensure that bats are managed correctly on the development site, enabling the preliminary roost assessment to support a planning application. A preliminary roost assessment may be carried out year round, unlike many protected species surveys.

Stage 2: Bat Emergence and Re-entry Surveys (BERS).

Also known as bat activity surveys or dusk entry and dawn re-entry surveys, BERS involve ecological consultants surveying the proposed development site ideally on consecutive nights at three different points to monitor potential entry and exit points for bats. They will use bat detectors and other equipment to record bat species and assess bat populations.  

If there is evidence of bats, the bat emergence survey report will include mitigation measures to enable the proposed scheme to progress without disturbing bats, satisfying the local planning authority and enabling it to grant planning permission. If a likely absence of bats is the result, the bat survey will relay this to the local authority.

A bat emergence and re-entry survey can only be carried out from late spring – mid-May – to the end of the summer months in September as bats hibernate during the winter months.

Further bat surveys

The preliminary roost assessment or bat activity surveys may identify other protected species or habitats, triggering the need for further surveys such as barn owl surveys, tree surveys, habitat surveys or surveys for great crested newts. In some cases, a local authority will require a bat hibernation survey.

Sometimes aerial inspections of man made structures will be needed or tree climbing will be necessary to fully check for bat populations. Progress on development projects may be paused while a local authority waits for all survey work information before considering a planning application.

While planning permission can be obtained via a preliminary roost assessment and emergence surveys, a European Protected Species Licence may be required if there is a need to disturb bats or destroy a bat roost. Bat mitigation class licences are issued by the statutory nature conservation organisation Natural England.

Need a Cheshire bat survey?

If you suspect bat presence on your site or have found evidence of bat roosts, an ecological consultancy with experience in conducting bat surveys will help you work out the best way ahead. Often, ecological consultants can provide advice to overcome issues caused by the discovery of bats on a development site, allowing a scheme to proceed through the planning process.

The firm you choose should employ fully licensed bat surveyors with experience in completing bat surveys for the relevant local planning authority. Following their expert advice will pave the way to a successful planning application.

To avoid delays, it’s important to remember that while Preliminary Roost Assessments can be carried out at any time of year, the bat survey season means that Bat Emergence and Re-entry Surveys can only be carried out between May and September.