Hatchgate End, Hatchgate Lane, Cockpole Green, Wargrave, Berkshire RG10 8NE

Updated Bat Survey Report & Bat Mitigation Strategy

July 2018

on behalf of Mr & Mrs Hart

Windrush Ecology Limited – Howbery Park – Benson Lane – Wallingford OX10 8BA Tel 01491 822681 – Web www.windrushecology.com – Email [email protected] Company Registration No: 7068178 – Place of Registration – 4 Witan Way, Witney, Oxfordshire OX28 6FF

Client Mr & Mrs Hart

Hatchgate End, Hatchgate Lane, Cockpole Green, Wargrave, Berkshire Job name RG10 8NE

Survey dates 19th September 2017 & May to June 2018

Report date 5th July 2018

Report title Updated Bat Survey Report & Mitigation Strategy

Reference W2521_rep_Hatchgate End, Cockpole Green_05-07-18

Signed Name Position Date

Owen Crawshaw BSc Prepared by Ecologist 25/09/17 GradCIEEM

Edward Bodsworth MA PhD Reviewed by Director 26/09/17 MCIEEM

Owen Crawshaw BSc Updated by Ecologist 07/06/18 GradCIEEM

Edward Bodsworth MA PhD Finalised by Director 05/07/18 MCIEEM

Mr & Mrs Hart Hatchgate End, Cockpole Green

Contents

1 Introduction ...... 1 1.1 Site Description & Context ...... 1 1.2 Proposed Works ...... 1 1.3 Aims of Study ...... 1 1.4 Bat Ecology ...... 1 2 Methodology ...... 2 2.1 Building Inspections ...... 2 2.1.1 19th September 2017 ...... 2 2.1.2 6th June 2018 ...... 4 2.2 Bat Activity Surveys ...... 4 3 Results & Evaluation ...... 5 3.1 Description of Building ...... 5 3.2 Evidence of Bats ...... 6 3.2.1 19th September 2017 ...... 6 3.2.2 6th June 2018 ...... 6 3.3 Bat Activity ...... 6 3.3.1 9th May 2018 (dusk emergence) ...... 6 3.3.2 23rd May 2018 (dawn re-entry) ...... 6 3.3.3 6th June 2018 (dusk emergence) ...... 6 4 Discussion ...... 7 4.1 Assessment of Results ...... 7 4.2 Legislative Guidance ...... 7 4.2.1 Low Impact Bat Class Licence (LIBCL) ...... 8 5 Potential Impacts ...... 9 6 Recommendations ...... 10 6.1 Licencing ...... 10 6.2 Timing ...... 10 6.3 Pre-commencement Check ...... 10 6.4 Supervision of Careful Works...... 10 6.5 Replacement Roosting Opportunities ...... 10 7 References ...... 13 8 Appendix 1. Photographs ...... 14 9 Appendix 2. Site Location Plans ...... 16 10 Appendix 3. Building & Results Plan ...... 17 11 Appendix 4. Bat Mitigation Plan ...... 18

W2521_rep_Hatchgate End, Cockpole Green_05-07-18 i

Mr & Mrs Hart Hatchgate End, Cockpole Green

1 Introduction

1.1 Site Description & Context Hatchgate End is a detached dwelling located to the south-western side of Hatchgate Lane, adjacent to the road’s junction with The Crescent, within the village of Cockpole Green. The approximate Ordnance Survey grid reference for the property is SU 799 810. Cockpole Green is situated approximately 3.3km to the south-east of the town of Henley-on-Thames.

The building is considered to date from the 1930s. The dwelling is constructed from brick, with a pitched and hipped roof of clay tiles; there are two dormer windows to the roof. There is wooden weather-boarding above the dormer windows, with hanging tile facades to the sides of these features.

The small village of Cockpole Green is surrounded by countryside, characterised by arable fields and grazing pasture divided by a network of interconnecting hedgerows. A significant area of woodland habitat is present approximately 750m to the south-east of the village in the form of Bowsey Hill. The River Thames flows north-south approximately 2km to the west of Cockpole Green and creates a notable ecological feature within the wider landscape.

1.2 Proposed Works There is a proposal to extend the existing dwelling at its eastern and western elevations. Proposed elevation plans are provided in Appendix 4.

1.3 Aims of Study The aims of this study are to survey the dwelling for bats and/or evidence of bats and to assess the overall potential of the building to support roosting bats. The report discusses the likely impacts of the proposed works on bats and makes recommendations for further survey work, appropriate mitigation, compensation and enhancement measures in this regard.

The potential impacts are assessed in accordance with the legal protection afforded to bats under The Conservation of Habitats & Species Regulations 2010.The need for a European Protected Species (bat) licence is also discussed in light of the impact assessment.

1.4 Bat Ecology Bats are the only mammals to have developed the ability of true flight. At present, over 1,100 species of bat are recognised worldwide, making bats the second largest mammal group after rodents. As well as flight, bats have evolved a system of navigation and orientation using echolocation which has allowed many species to become nocturnal. There are 18 species of bat that occur within the British Isles, of which 17 are known to breed here. More species occur in the south and west of the country, with species numbers declining towards the north and into Scotland.

All bat species in the UK are nocturnal and feed exclusively on insects (they are insectivorous) which they catch in flight during their night-time activity, using echolocation to locate and home-in on their prey. Bats will roost during the daytime and seek out dark, enclosed and undisturbed places in which to do so, often using a variety of roosting sites within their home range. Different roost sites are used for different purposes (such as mating, giving birth and hibernation) and at different periods of a bat’s life cycle.

During the summer, female bats will gather together in a maternity or breeding roost. In the UK, this starts to occur towards the end of May and the females will seek out a warm and undisturbed site in which to give birth. Because maternity roosts require a particular set of environmental attributes (such as location, temperature, orientation and size), breeding bats

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tend to return to roost and breed in the same locations year after year. Given that bats live a relatively long time (anywhere from 10-20 years), and only give birth to one pup a year, maternity colonies are crucial to the reproduction and survival of the local population and can be very sensitive to environmental change.

Relatively little is known about hibernation roosts, as tracking and locating hibernating bats is very difficult. However, many species (particularly those within the genera Myotis and Rhinolophus) have been found within underground sites such as caves, mines and cellars, where the temperature remains constant and low throughout the winter allowing the bats to remain in a state of torpor. The spring and autumn are periods of transition and bats can use a number of different locations on a temporary basis, often moving between roosts as environmental conditions change and temperatures fluctuate. In the autumn, bats will mate and it has been shown that male and female bats will gather at particular locations (such as a building, cave or tree) to meet, socialise and mate.

Bats choose to roost in a number of different locations, depending on the species, their activity pattern and the period of their lifecycle. Certain species, such as the pipistrelles, favour crevices and small cavities for roosting and will use features such as cracks, crevices and small rot holes in the boughs and trunks of trees and within certain features of buildings such as boxed eaves, gaps under roof tiles, hanging tiles and soffit boards. Other species favour large, uncluttered roof spaces and lofts within buildings where they can hang up on the underside of the roof and use the interior space for flying prior to emergence. Hollow trees, cellars, caves, barns, churches and cavity walls can also all be used for roosting, given suitable access. Certain species, such as the noctule, favour roosting sites within trees whilst others tend to favour buildings. Roost sites may be used by only a very small number of bats, such as solitary males, or may offer shelter to tens or hundreds of bats within maternity and hibernation roost sites.

The suitability of roosting sites is also highly influenced by the location or context of a tree, building or cave. Roost sites are most often favoured when they are within close proximity to foraging habitats and where those habitats are connected to one another within the landscape by features such as hedgerows, woodlands, rivers or sunken lanes along which bats disperse and ‘commute’ from place to place. Suitable foraging habitats are any places where insect prey is diverse and abundant such as woodlands, ponds, lakes, rivers, scrub, hedgerows and unimproved grassland or pasture. Thus, the ecological context of a site is very important for determining if bats may be present within a roost and the potential for a roost to be present tends to be much higher within rural or village locations.

2 Methodology

2.1 Building Inspections

2.1.1 19th September 2017 A building inspection survey (initial bat survey) was undertaken on 19th September 2017 by Owen Crawshaw BSc GradCIEEM and Robbie Birkett BSc MSc. Mr Crawshaw holds a licence from Natural England to survey for bats within all counties of England (WLM-A34-Level 1 2016-26589-CLS-CLS) and has over three years of experience in undertaking bat surveys.

A detailed internal and external survey of the dwelling was undertaken using a 1 million candle- power torch and close-focusing binoculars in order to look for bats and/or evidence of bats and to assess the potential of the building to support roosting bats. The internal space and accessible external elevations of the building were inspected for evidence of bats including, bat droppings, urine stains, feeding remains (such as moth wings) and characteristic fur staining around access points.

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Notes were made on the relative freshness, shape and size of bat droppings and the location and quantity of any feeding remains. ‘Clean’ gaps and crevices within the structure of the building were looked for as this can indicate where bats may have gained access to the interior spaces and the fabric of the walls. The bat survey was undertaken according to best practice guidelines published by the Bat Conservation Trust (Collins, 2016) and the Bat Workers Manual (JNCC, 2012).

The study also takes into account the structure and ecological context of the building, including the following factors which may increase the likelihood of roosting bats being present:

• Age of the building (pre-20th Century or early 20th Century construction) • Nature of construction; traditional brick, stone or timber construction • Large and complicated roof void with unobstructed flying spaces • Large (>20 cm) roof timbers with mortice/tenon joints, cracks and holes • Entrances and gaps for bats to fly and crawl through • Poorly maintained fabric providing ready access points for bats into roofs, walls; but at the same time not being too draughty and cool. • Roof warmed by the sun, south-facing roofs in particular • Weatherboarding and/or hanging tiles with gaps • Undisturbed roof voids • Buildings and built structures in proximity to each other providing a variety of roosting opportunities throughout the year • Buildings or built structures close to good foraging habitat, in particular mature trees, parkland, woodland or wetland, especially in a rural setting.

Table 1 sets out the criteria used as guidelines for assessing the potential suitability of buildings for bats (Collins, 2016).

Table 1. Criteria for assessing bat roost potential of buildings (Collins, 2016).

Suitability Description of Roosting habitats Negligible Negligible habitat features on site likely to be used by roosting bats.

Low A structure with one or more potential roost sites that could be used by individual bats opportunistically. However, these potential roost sites do not provide enough space, shelter, protection, appropriate conditions and/or suitable surrounding habitat to be used on a regular basis or by larger numbers of bats (i.e. unlikely to be suitable for maternity or hibernation).

Moderate A structure with one or more potential roost sites that could be used by bats due to their size, shelter, protection, conditions and surrounding habitat but unlikely to support a roost of high conservation status (with respect to roost type only – the assessments in this table are made irrespective of species conservation status, which is established after the presence is confirmed).

High A structure with one or more potential roost sites that are obviously suitable for use by larger numbers of bats on a more regular basis and potentially for longer periods of time due to their size, shelter, protection, conditions and surrounding habitats.

Confirmed presence of roosting bats is where evidence is found to show that a building or structure is used by bats, this includes:

• bats seen roosting or observed flying from a roost or freely in the habitat; Page 3

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• droppings, carcasses, feeding remains etc. found and/or • bats heard ‘chattering’ inside a roost on a warm day or at dusk.

Where the possibility that bats are present cannot be eliminated or evidence of bats is found during the building inspection survey, then further surveys (such as winter hibernation, presence/absence and/or roost characterisation) are likely to be necessary if impacts on the roosting habitat (or the bats using it) are predicted.

2.1.2 6th June 2018 A repeat loft inspection was undertaken by Mr Crawshaw & Mr Birkett on 6th June 2018.

2.2 Bat Activity Surveys Bat activity surveys were conducted at dusk on 9th May 2018 and 6th June 2018 by Owen Crawshaw BSc GradCIEEM and Robbie Birkett MSci, with a pre-dawn survey conducted on 23rd May 2018 by Mr Birkett and Jan-Piet Stuursma. Please refer to Table 2 for timings and weather conditions during the bat activity surveys.

During the surveys, surveyors were positioned to the north-east and south-west of the house. The positioning of the surveyors ensured adequate coverage of the building during the surveys (see Figure 1). Surveyors were equipped with Echometer Touch bat detectors to record and analyse bat calls in real time.

Table 2. Timings and weather conditions during the 2018 bat activity surveys at Hatchgate End, Cockpole Green.

Date Timing Sunrise Weather /Sunset

09/05/18 20:20 - 22:30 20:39 Mild (13oC down to 12oC), dry, mostly cloudy (cloud cover 75%), calm (Beaufort Scale 0).

23/05/18 03:30 - 05:15 05:01 Mild (11oC up to 12oC), dry, clear (cloud cover 0%), light breeze (Beaufort Scale 2).

06/06/18 21:00 - 22:45 21:15 Warm (18oC down to 13.5oC), dry, clear (cloud cover 0%), calm (Beaufort Scale 0).

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Figure 1. The position of the surveyors at Hatchgate End, Cockpole Green during the bat activity surveys undertaken in 2018. Positioning of the surveyors during the surveys of 9th May & 23rd May are shown as red dots, while the positions adopted on 6th June are shown as yellow dots. The study building is shown by the red outline.

3 Results & Evaluation An annotated building plan showing the results of the survey is provided in Appendix 3.

3.1 Description of Building Please refer to Appendix 1 for photographs of the building.

The dwelling is considered to date from the 1930s and is arranged over two storeys, with a gable end extending from its south-eastern elevation. The walls are of brick and the building has a pitched and hipped roof of modern clay tiles.

Two dormer windows are present within the roof of the dwelling, on the south-eastern and north-western aspects. The dormers display pitched roofs of clay tiles, a front fascia of wooden weather-boarding and clay hanging tiles to their side elevations.

There are two loft spaces within the roof, partitioned by a dividing brick wall/chimney breast. The north-western void covers a rectangular floor plan, while the south-eastern void includes the south-eastern protruding gable, creating a ‘t’-shaped plan. Both spaces have an approximate floor to ridge height of 2m and contain and underlining of bitumen and hessian roofing felt throughout.

A small area of overlapping timber cladding is present at the lower section of the dwelling’s southern corner. A slot window is present within the upper-part of the south-eastern gable end, although this feature does not lead into the roof space of the dwelling.

Although the building is in a good state of repair, a number of gaps and crevice features were noted on the exterior. A number of gaps exist beneath ridge tiles along the northern ridge, and are created by missing mortar, although these are likely to be relatively shallow features. A

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narrow gap is also present at the main ridge of the hipped section’s north-western aspect (towards its northern end). Small gaps were also observed beneath tiles on the south-western aspect of the hipped roof. Gaps were observed beneath roof tiles of the north-western gable along with a gap created by a single warped weatherboard. Crevices exists beneath hanging tiles on both dormer features.

3.2 Evidence of Bats

3.2.1 19th September 2017 One brown long-eared bat Plecotus auritus was observed roosting between two rafters at the ridge of the south-eastern loft space. The bat was located at the hip of the roof, towards its south-eastern end. The bat was not in a torpid state.

Two distinct accumulations of bat droppings, containing approximately 100-150 droppings each, were recorded within the south-eastern loft space (see Appendix 3). The droppings were relatively fresh and were considered likely to have been left during 2016 and 2017. All of the droppings were of a size and shape indicative of the brown long-eared bat.

A loose accumulation of approximately 40 bat droppings was recorded towards the north- western end of the north-western loft space. The droppings were relatively fresh and were considered likely to have been left during the 2016 and 2017 bat activity seasons. All of the droppings were of a size and shape indicative of the brown long-eared bat.

No other evidence of bats was recorded during the survey and no evidence of bats was observed in association with the exterior of the building.

3.2.2 6th June 2018 One brown long-eared bat was observed roosting within the south-eastern loft space during the inspection. The bat was active and began flying within the void when disturbed.

3.3 Bat Activity

3.3.1 9th May 2018 (dusk emergence) No bats were seen to emerge from the building during the survey. Bat activity was relatively low during the survey; single passes by common pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus and soprano pipistrelle P. pygmaeus were recorded by the surveyor positioned to the north of the building.

3.3.2 23rd May 2018 (dawn re-entry) No bats were seen to re-enter the building during the survey. Bat activity was relatively low during the survey; several passes by noctule Nyctalus noctula and soprano pipistrelle were recorded by the surveyor positioned to the south of the building.

3.3.3 6th June 2018 (dusk emergence) An emergence of a non-echolocating bat (likely a brown long-eared bat) was recorded from the ridge, near the chimney stack, of the dwelling’s south-eastern half. This may have been the bat observed within the south-eastern loft space earlier in the day.

A common pipistrelle was recorded flying around the south-western aspect of the roof during the dusk survey. It was not seen whether this bat emerged from the building.

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4 Discussion

4.1 Assessment of Results The results of the 2017 and 2018 surveys have confirmed the presence of a brown long-eared bat roost within the loft space of the dwelling at Hatchgate End. The evidence indicates the presence of one bat using a day/transitional roost in the summer/autumn months, and the number of droppings does not currently indicate a maternity colony.

Bats will often choose to roost within different locations within the summer and winter periods (see Figure 3), favouring dark, enclosed, humid and cool locations for hibernation such as caves and cellars. These locations must maintain a constant low temperature (2-8°C), but temperatures must also not go below freezing. In addition, bats favour places that are undisturbed and retain relatively high humidity during the winter period.

Figure 3. Diagram showing the yearly life cycle of a bat. Taken from the Bat Mitigation Guidelines by Mitchell-Jones 2004.

The Brown Long-eared Bat The distribution atlas of bats in Britain and Ireland describes brown long-eared bats as being widespread throughout Britain and Ireland except for the Scottish islands. The State of the UK’s Bats 2017 show a statistically significant population decline of 31.3% in hibernation surveys, between 1999 and 2016, whereas the report shows a non-statistically significant 20.1% population increase from roost surveys. The species is considered to be common at a local level and widely distributed throughout the county of Oxfordshire.

Female brown long-eared bats typically gather in small numbers (10-20 bats) within their maternity roosts and they show a relatively high level of roost fidelity, returning to the same location year after year. Brown long-eared bats tend to favour large, uncluttered roof spaces and older buildings for roosting and are a typical species within rural churches. Studies have also shown that they prefer a roost site which has a direct habitat link to suitable foraging habitat, such as woodland. Brown long-eared bats tend to forage mostly within woodland as they glean insect prey from the surface of vegetation and from the canopy of trees. Although common and widespread, the species is listed as a priority for conservation within Section 41 of the NERC Act, 2006 due to declining population trends.

4.2 Legislative Guidance As with many animal species within the UK, declines in the abundance and distribution of many bat species have been documented through recent decades. The reasons for these declines are various and complex but it is considered that the major factors are changes in land use and agriculture, the loss of woodlands and hedgerows and the loss of suitable roosting sites.

Bats are particularly sensitive to human activity due to the fact that they roost within buildings, trees and underground structures such as mines, and the availability of suitable roost sites is

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considered to be a key factor in the conservation of bats within the UK. As a consequence, all species of bat and their roost sites are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000) and under The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010. Taken together, these make it an offence to:

(a) Deliberately capture or intentionally take a bat (b) Deliberately or intentionally kill or injure a bat (c) To be in possession or control of any live or dead wild bat or any part of, or anything derived from a wild bat (d) Damage or destroy a breeding site or resting place of such an animal or intentionally or recklessly damage, destroy or obstruct access to any place that a wild bat uses for shelter or protection (e) Intentionally or recklessly disturb any wild bat while it is occupying a structure or place that it uses for shelter or protection (f) Deliberately disturb any bat, in particular any disturbance which is likely - to impair their ability; (i) to survive, breed, reproduce or to rear or nurture their young; or (ii) in the case of hibernating or migratory species, to hibernate or migrate; or - to affect significantly the local distribution or abundance of the species to which they belong

A bat roost may be any structure a bat uses for breeding, resting, shelter or protection. It is important to note that since bats tend to re-use the same roost sites, current legal opinion is that a bat roost is protected whether or not the bats are present at the time.

Although the law provides strict protection to bats, it also allows this protection to be set aside (derogation) under The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 through the issuing of licences. Where a lawful operation is required to be carried out but which is likely to result in one of the above offences, a licence may be obtained from Natural England (the statutory body in England with responsibility for nature conservation) to allow the operation to proceed. However, in accordance with the requirements of The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010, a licence can only be issued where the following requirements are satisfied:

• The proposal is necessary ‘to preserve public health or public safety or other imperative reasons of overriding public interest including those of a social or economic nature and beneficial consequences of primary importance for the environment’; • ‘There is no satisfactory alternative’; • The proposals ‘will not be detrimental to the maintenance of the population of the species concerned at a favourable conservation status in their natural range’.

4.2.1 Low Impact Bat Class Licence (LIBCL) In 2015, Natural England launched a new class licence (WML‑CL21), which provides a streamlined process to the European Protected Species Licence (EPSL) described above. The Low Impact Bat Class Licence (LIBCL) permits work that has a low impact on certain bat species and certain roost types, but which still needed to be licensed in order to meet legal requirements. Specifically, the criteria for using the low impact class licence are is set out below.

Bat species The low impact licence can be used for sites where the following species are roosting:

• Common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) • Soprano pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pygmaeus)

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• Brown long-eared (Plecotus auritus) • Whiskered (Myotis mystacinus) • Brandt’s (Myotis brandtii) • Daubenton’s (Myotis daubentonii) • Natterer’s (Myotis nattereri)

Assemblage of bats Sites that support a maximum of three bat species listed above can be registered for the class licence. Sites with a more diverse assemblage of bat roosts must apply for an individual European Protected Species (EPS) licence.

Number of bats Sites that support individuals or small numbers (in total) of the bat species listed above can register for the low impact class licence. If more than one bat species will be affected, it is the total number of bats which must be considered. The conservation status of bats varies across regions, and must be considered by the ecologist when determining what constitutes ‘small numbers’.

Roost type The low impact class licence applies to roosts of low conservation significance, and is regulated to cover the following types of roosts in buildings:

• Feeding roosts • Night roosts • Day roosts • Transitional roosts / occasional roosts

Sites with roosts of higher conservation significance such as maternity roosts, hibernation sites or swarming sites do not qualify.

Number of roosts The low impact class licence is applicable to sites that support no more than three roosts in total (across all structures).

Impacts Natural England’s low impact class licence permits activities resulting in the disturbance and/or capture of certain bat species (listed above) and/or the damage or destruction of roosts of low conservation significance.

Natural England’s low impact class licence is held by Registered Ecological Consultants and sites must be registered with, and approved by Natural England before any licensable work can commence. The ecological consultant must apply to Natural England’s Sustainable Development Wildlife Licensing to register the site with at least 3 weeks (15 working days) notice and no more than 12 weeks before commencement of any licensable activities.

5 Potential Impacts The proposed works to affect the dwelling will result in the alteration of a transitional roost used by the brown long-eared bat. If bats are present at the time of works, there is the potential for disturbance to a single non-breeding bat. The proposed mitigation is designed to provide additional bat access with the aim of retaining the existing bat roost within the loft spaces of the building. The brown long-eared bat is a common and widespread species and the proposed development will have a negligible impact on the conservation status of the species within the local are and nationwide.

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There are no foreseeable impacts on breeding or hibernating bats which are considered to be absent from the building.

Given that significant impacts on bats and their roost sites have been identified a bat licence from Natural England will be required for the proposed works to proceed.

6 Recommendations

6.1 Licencing Prior to the commencement of works a bat licence will be secured from Natural England to permit the destruction of a brown long-eared bat day/transitional roost.

A Low Impact Bat Class Licence is considered appropriate due to the following:

• The presence of the brown-long-eared (common species) • Low numbers (1 bat) • Two roosts of ‘low’ conservation significance: day/transitional roost • One roost locations in one building • No foreseeable impacts on breeding/hibernating bats

It is recommended that a Registered Consultant (ecologist) is employed to register the site with Natural England under the LIBCL scheme.

6.2 Timing No timing constraints are considered necessary under the Low Impact Bat Class Licence approach.

If bats are present at the time of works, there the potential for disturbance to one brown long- eared bat, which will not be hibernating and will not be present within a maternity colony.

6.3 Pre-commencement Check Prior to the commencement of works the loft spaces within the building will be inspected by the registered consultant for roosting bats. If bats are encountered, they will be rescued by the Registered Consultant (ecologist) by hand and moved to a pre-erected bat box on a nearby tree.

6.4 Supervision of Careful Works The Registered Consultant will give a ‘tool box’ talk regarding bats and their habitats, and where bats have been found at the property. Contractors should be briefed with regard to the fact that individual bats can often exploit very small crevices as roost sites (such as gaps beneath roof tiles) and that bats can move between roost sites on a regular basis.

Works will proceed in a careful and controlled manner, with the removal of the roof tiles and dismantling of dormer windows by hand. The works will be supervised by the Registered Consultant (ecologist) until he/she is confident that the building has been made unsuitable for roosting bats.

6.5 Replacement Roosting Opportunities Two bat tiles (Figures 4 & 5) will be created at the ridge of the dwelling to provide continued access for bat into the north-western and south-eastern loft spaces. Bat tiles are simple to construct by raising a ridge tile above two of its neighbours and by leaving an un-mortared gap beneath. The existing bitumen and hessian roofing felt within the loft spaces will be retained and Breathable Roof Membranes (BRMs) will not be used, as these can entangle

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and trap bats within loose fibres. Corresponding holes will be cut in the felt to allow bats access in the roof voids.

Figure 4. Design for a ridge tile to allow access into a roof space.

Figure 5. Detail of a roof showing two bat tiles over a clay tiled roof.

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Figure 6. A 1FF Schwegler bat box. Source: https://www.nhbs.com

A 1FF Schwegler bat box (Figure 6) will be installed on a tree within the gardens of the property. The bat box will be used to house rescued bats and will be retained in perpetuity.

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7 References Altringham, J., 2003. British Bats. Harper Collins.

Bat Conservation Trust, 2009. The State of the UK’s Bats 2009. National Bat Monitoring Programme.

Collins, J. 2016. Bat Surveys for Professional Ecologists: Good Practice Guidelines (3rd edition). The Bat Conservation Trust, London.

Joint Nature Conservation Committee, 2012. Bat Worker’s Manual. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough, UK.

Mitchell-Jones, A., 2004. Bat Mitigation Guidelines. English Nature.

Neuweiler, G., 2000. The Biology of Bats. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

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8 Appendix 1. Photographs

Photograph 1. A brown long-eared bat (indicated by Photograph 2. An accumulation of brown long-eared the red arrow) roosting within the south-eastern loft bat droppings within the south-eastern loft space. space of the dwelling at Hatchgate End. September September 2017. 2017.

Photograph 3. The south-eastern loft space (looking Photograph 4. The north-western loft space (looking north-west) the accumulation of bat droppings north-west). September 2017. shown in photograph 2 is indicated by the red arrow. September 2017.

Photograph 5. The gable end within the dwelling’s Photograph 6. The dormer window within the north- north-eastern elevation. September 2017. eastern elevation’s dormer window. September 2017.

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Photograph 7. Small gaps created beneath lifted Photograph 8. The south-western elevation of the hanging tiles to the sides of the north-eastern dormer dwelling. window.

Photograph 9. A crevice created beneath a warped Photograph 10. One of several gaps created at the weatherboard fitted to the south-western dormer junctions of the roof and dormer windows. window.

Photograph 11. Gaps beneath hanging tiles fitted to Photograph 12. Gaps created beneath roof tiles the sides of the south-western dormer window. fitted to the south-western dormer window.

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9 Appendix 2. Site Location Plans

Aerial photograph showing the location of the dwelling at Hatchgate End (outlined in red). Source: http://www.bing.com/mapspreview

Ordnance Survey map showing the approximate location of the property (indicated by the red dot) within the local area. Source: http://www.bing.com/mapspreview

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10 Appendix 3. Building & Results Plan

Approximate location of unconfirmed common pipistrelle emergence on N 06.06.18

Loose accumulation of Accumulation of approximately approximately 40 bat 100-150 bat droppings droppings

Brown long-eared bat seen roosting at ridge (within loft void) on 19.09.17 & 06.06.18

Accumulation of approximately 100-150 Location of unconfirmed brown bat droppings long-eared bat emergence on 06.06.18 Page 17

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11 Appendix 4. Bat Mitigation Plan

2 x bat tiles at ridge of dwelling

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Mr & Mrs Hart Hatchgate End, Cockpole Green 2 x bat tiles at ridge

of dwelling

2 x bat tiles at ridge of dwelling

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Mr & Mrs Hart Hatchgate End, Cockpole Green

1FF Schwegler Bat Box Mounted on Tree

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