Someone wants to redevelop some property nearby, but I see bats flying there. Can they go ahead?
Bats and their roosting places are protected by law, but bats may fly several miles at night so there are few places where you are unlikely to see at least one if you look. The key thing is do the bats roost in the buildings or trees to be affected? If you see bats leaving at dusk, often from a small hole high up on a building, then it is very likely they roost there. So, first of all, go out on a few evenings and try to spot whether the bats are going out to feed elsewhere, or coming to the site to feed, from elsewhere. Getting a conclusive answer is not always easy, even for an expert, so if there is any doubt, it is best to assume that they might live there. If you have good reason to suspect that bats do live at the site, tell the Planning Dept of the local council. Bats are a material consideration when deciding whether to grant planning permission, but if you don’t say anything it is possible that the applicant or council might not know anything about them. Usually the council wi
Related Questions
- A county that wants to build a trail on greenspace property, can it use the greenspace funds to pay for the phase-2 environmental study if one is needed?
- What happens if the taxpayer changes their mind about buying a replacement property and wants to cancel the exchange?
- Someone wants to redevelop some property nearby, but I see bats flying there. Can they go ahead?
