Welcome to the Essex Mammal Surveys website
An introduction to Essex Mammal Surveys
Essex Mammal Surveys was formed in 2002 to offer surveys for protected species of mammals to developers and landscape architects. Completed projects have mainly involved bats, where the identification of roosts is vital in the proposed development of a site to comply with existing legislation. In this way, any work that may otherwise be detrimental to bats can be appropriately scheduled.
Legislation and planning policy relating to bats in the UK
All bat species in Britain are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 through inclusion on Schedule 5. They are also protected under the Conservation (Natural Habitats &c.) Regulations 1994 (which were issued under the European Communities Act 1972), through inclusion on Schedule 2. These regulations make it illegal to kill, injure, capture or disturb bats or to obstruct access to, damage or destroy their roosts. Under the law, a roost is any structure or place used for shelter or protection. Because bats tend to re-use the same roosts, the roost is protected whether or not the bats are present at the time.
This legislation provides defences so that necessary operations may be carried out in places used by bats, provided the appropriate Statutory Nature Conservation Organisation – in England this is English Nature – is notified and allowed a reasonable time to advise on whether the proposed operation should be carried out and, if so, the approach to be used. The UK is a signatory to the Agreement on the Conservation of Bats in Europe, set up under the Bonn Convention. The Fundamental Obligations of Article III of this Agreement require the protection of all bats and their habitats, including the identification and protection from damage or disturbance of important feeding areas for bats.
The presence of a protected species should also be a material consideration in decisions made by a local planning authority on individual planning applications and appeals, according to the Government’s Planning Policy Guidance: Nature Conservation note, PPG 9, October 1994.
Since September 2000, building development that affects bats or their roosts needs a Development Licence under the Habitats Regulations, administered in England by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).