Potential Bat Habitats in the East of England
Within the East of England region is six counties and a number of easily recognisable locations. For instance, notable towns and cities include Basildon, Chelmsford, Colchester and Southend in Essex, Cambridge and Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, Hemel Hempstead and Watford in Hertfordshire, Ipswich in Suffolk, Luton in Bedfordshire, and Norwich in Norfolk.
As well as a variety of urban areas, more than 80% of the East of England is classed as rural, opening up bat roost opportunities for a number of bats to create viable habitats for roosting bats. A mix of urban and rural areas is ideal for bats, as it gives them the option of trees and infrastructure for building bat roosts in barns, garages, houses and sheds.
East of England Bat Species
Bat groups across the East of England region have kept a record of all identified species to inform local people of the bats present in the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
In the section below, you will find all species of bat currently present in the East of England by county:
Bedfordshire
- Brandt’s bat
- Brown long-eared bat
- Pipistrelle bat
- Noctule bat
Cambridgeshire
- Barbastelle bat
- Brandt’s bat
- Daubenton’s bat
- Leisler’s bat
- Pipistrelle bat
- Serotine bat
- Natterer’s bat
- Whiskered bat
Essex
- Brown long-eared bat
- Daubenton’s bat
- Natterer’s bat
- Pipistrelle bat
Hertfordshire
- Barbastelle bat
- Brandt’s bat
- Brown long-eared bat
- Daubenton’s bat
- Leisler’s bat
- Natterer’s bat
- Noctule bat
- Pipistrelle bat
- Serotine bat
- Whiskered bat
Norfolk
- Barbastelle bat
- Daubenton’s bat
- Natterer’s bat
- Noctule bat
- Pipistrelle bat
- Serotine bat
Suffolk
- Barbastelle bat
- Brown long-eared bat
- Daubenton’s bat
- Leisler’s bat
- Lesser horseshoe bat
- Natterer’s bat
- Noctule bat
- Pipistrelle bat
- Serotine bat
- Whiskered bat
Disturbance or harm caused to bats is strictly prohibited under both UK and European legislation. Due to this, all planning projects on development sites where bats may be present and could obstruct access for the development work or deliberately disturb bats require a bat survey and the accompanying bat report before the local planning authority will view an application for planning permission.
Applicable Bat Assessments
Prior to conducting any form of bat survey, an ecologist would carry out a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) on the site to identify protected species and valuable or invasive plant species if bats haven’t already been detected. Once bats are found on a site as the result of a PEA or from the landowner or developer’s observations, the first step in the bat surveying process would be to arrange a Preliminary Roost Assessment (PRA) / bat scoping survey.
As a starting point, the ecologist will begin preliminary roost assessments by discussing the planning project with the developer to gain an understanding of what the development will involve and whether it would be likely to affect bats on the site or property. If, for example, the land development was carried out on a completely separate building away from where bats were roosting, an ecologist may conclude that changes to the development and further surveys will not be needed. Alternatively, if the development is set to directly involve bat roosts present on the site or property, the ecologist would need to conduct additional ecology surveys, namely a Bat Emergence and Re-Entry Survey (BERS) / dusk and dawn surveys / entry and re-entry surveys.
While a PRA would involve searching for evidence of bats such as bat droppings, feeding remains and features on nearby infrastructure that could be used by bats to roost such as loose roof tiles or gaps in infrastructure, a BERS survey focuses more on addressing bat species and population numbers present. Solely conducted at dusk and dawn, and within the active season in the time of year between the months of May and September, entry and re-entry surveys require one or more ecologists to monitor the entry and exit points of the site with bat detectors and record the numbers and species of bats in the vicinity, as well as likely roosting locations.
After any ecology survey work, the ecological surveyor will create an ecology report that reflects the results of the assessment alongside recommendations for how the developer can mitigate any potential obstacles on the site. Following scoping bat surveys or bat activity surveys, the ecological consultant will develop a report that includes information from the bat surveys, as well as the next steps that enable the development to progress despite the presence of bats. The bat survey report can then be passed on to the local authority to support the developer’s application for planning permission.
Consultant Bat Surveyors
Developers undertaking planning projects in the East of England on sites where bats may be or have been confirmed to be present would be strongly advised to organise bat surveys with a reputable ecological consultancy. By taking this approach, you can avoid any chance of breaching UK legislation, eliminate any costly delays that would arise from roosting bats or commuting bats being found later in the process, and significantly strengthen your planning application to the local council.
All of the ecologists in our ranks are experienced, capable, reliable and suitably educated, with bachelor’s or master’s degrees in relevant areas. Our ecological consultants are based in different parts of the country, giving them the viability for conducting bat surveys in the East of England or any other area you need us to visit. We can also manage mitigation licence applications if you need to retrieve one from Natural England to move bats on the site.
Alongside scoping bat surveys, bat activity surveys and other types of bat surveys on the many species of bats present in the East of England, our team can suggest solutions for further assessments if they are needed, such as tree surveys and other protected species surveys. For a free quote, call us using the number above or fill out our handy quick quote form, and our team will be able to give you a price based on the specifications of your site and project. We can then arrange a time to visit your site for a bat survey and help you to get your project through planning.