All species of UK bat receive protection under UK and European legislation. Under this legislation it is illegal to recklessly injure or kill bats and disturb, damage and destroy their roost sites, whether bats are using the roost or not.

At Keystone we employ licensed bat specialists to advise our clients on the complexities of the law and the resulting constraints for any given scheme. Non-compliance with the law can lead to prosecution and a jail sentence of up to 2 years and/or a fine of up to £5000.

Survey and Assessment

Licensed surveyors from Keystone can carry out all approved survey methodologies and can devise alternative survey techniques if the need arises.

Our range of surveys include:

• Preliminary surveys to assess a site's potential to support bat roosts, function as a feeding ground and/or flight corridor
• Internal and external inspections of all structures with the potential to support bat roosts e.g. buildings, bridges, tunnels, caves, culverts
• Tree inspections
• Emergence surveys using electronic bat detecting equipment
• Bat activity surveys using electronic bat detecting equipment
• Pre-demolition surveys
• Monitoring surveys to fulfil licence conditions or conservation/research objectives

Licence Applications

Development activities that may result in the disturbance and/or loss of bats and their roost sites must be licensed. At Keystone we specialise in the design, application and implementation of European Protected Species licenses.

Our close relationship with licensing authorities and our experience of developing accepted mitigation schemes ensures our applications will be approved.

Impact Assessment

Impact assessment is required at various scales and is fundamental to the design of a successful mitigation strategy. We have undertaken impact assessments for bats that range from concise reports for small scale planning applications to the ecology section of an ES for large scale projects.

Mitigation

Bat mitigation strategies are generally licensed and must therefore be designed and implemented to exacting standards. Development programmes can be seriously affected if mitigation work is not carried out in accordance with licence conditions and at an appropriate time of year.

Our expertise covers:

• Design and creation of replacement roost sites
• Provision of advise on the timing of works that may affect bats
• Production of phasing plans for activities that will impact upon bats
• Tool box talks and contractor briefings
• Licensed supervision of works
• Pre-works surveys
• Rescue and relocation of bats
• Licensed supervision for the construction of replacement roost site