LAND OFF BELVEDERE ROAD, BURTON-UPON-TRENT, STAFFORDSHIRE SURVEY FOR BATS Prepared for Staffordshire County Council June 2012 LAND OFF BELVEDERE ROAD, BURTON-UPON-TRENT, STAFFORDSHIRE SURVEY FOR BATS Prepared for STAFFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL Prepared by APEX ECOLOGY LIMITED Synchro House 512 Etruria Road Newcastle-under-Lyme Staffordshire ST5 0SY 01782 346494 [email protected] Survey undertaken by Max Robinson and Helen Ball Report produced by Helen Ball, MSc, CEnv, MIEEM Report checked by Max Robinson, BSc, MIEEM June 2012 Printed on recycled paper Land off Belvedere Road, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire Survey for Bats CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 2. METHODOLOGY 2.1 Search of Existing Bat Records 2.3 Survey Methodology 2.5 Inspection of Buildings 2.10 Evening Activity Survey 2.14 Constraints to the Survey 3. FINDINGS & INTERPRETATION 3.1 Review of Existing Bat Records 3.3 Survey Findings 2.4 Inspection of Buildings 3.9 Evening Activity Survey 3.12 Interpretation of the Survey Findings 4. RECOMMENDATIONS 5. REFERENCES PLATES I Pumphouse II Interior of pumphouse III Mortar missing on southern wall verge of pumphouse IV Pavilion FIGURE 1 Location of Buildings and Bat Activity Transect Route and Findings APPENDIX I Legislation Relating to Bats Apex Ecology Limited June 2012 Report HB/120603 Land off Belvedere Road, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire Survey for Bats 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This report presents the results of surveys for bats on land off Belvedere Road in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire undertaken by Apex Ecology Limited. The report is based on field surveys that were carried out during May 2012, which comprised an inspection of the existing buildings on site for evidence of roosting bats and assessment of the wider site for use by foraging bats. 1.2 The project was undertaken for Staffordshire County Council. The proposal is to construct a new primary school on the site. 1.3 Bats and their roosts are legally protected under European and domestic legislation and they are a material consideration during determination of planning applications. A summary of the key legislation protecting bats is provided in Appendix I. 1.4 The three buildings that were surveyed include: the pumphouse, a single-storey brick building with a steeply pitched and slated roof; a wooden pavilion; and a small wooden shed. The clubhouse (a large building that was located in the northern part of the site) has been demolished. The site is made up of a large area of amenity grassland that is now unmanaged, along with bowling greens, hardstanding, rough grassland and both native and ornamental scrub. 1.5 The site is located in the west of Burton-upon-Trent at approximate OS grid reference SK 238 245. It is surrounded by residential housing and the A38 dual- carriageway lies c.125m to the east. Open farmland lies 550m to the southwest. 1.6 The methods used for the surveys and any constraints encountered are described in the following chapter of the report. The results of the surveys are presented, along with a description of the buildings and any evidence of bats recorded. An assessment of the survey findings is then made, along with recommendations in light of the proposals. Apex Ecology Limited June 2012 Report HB/120603 Land off Belvedere Road, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire Survey for Bats 2. METHODOLOGY Search of Existing Bat Records 2.1 Staffordshire Ecological Record, the local records centre for Staffordshire, was contacted for existing records of bats lying within 2km of the site. 2.2 The results of record searches can help to set a site into the context of its surroundings, as well as provide valuable information on the known presence of bats in the local area. Survey Methodology 2.3 The buildings on site were inspected on the 22nd May 2012. This was followed by an evening survey to record bat activity across the wider site. A second evening survey to record bat activity was undertaken on the 29th May 2012. 2.4 The surveys were undertaken by Helen Ball and Max Robinson who are both licensed by Natural England to survey for bats (Natural England licence numbers 20113290 and 20120746). Both are experienced ecologists each having over ten year’s experience working in the ecology sector. Inspection of the Buildings 2.5 An assessment of buildings was made in terms of their suitability to support roosting bats. A number of factors were considered, including internal conditions, presence of features suitable for use by crevice dwelling and free hanging bats, proximity to foraging habitats/cover and potential for disturbance. 2.6 A description of each of the buildings was made and they were assessed in terms of their suitability to support roosting bats and assigned to one of the following categories: • Bat roost – evidence of use by bats present. Works affecting the roost would need to be undertaken under a statutory licence from Natural England, with precautionary and mitigation measures implemented as specified by the licence. • High Potential – building exhibiting features very suitable for use by roosting bats (such as gaps between tiles and underfelt, gaps below ridge tiles, significant crevices within the walls) and offering optimal roosting opportunity. Often a number of suitable features will be present. Further survey (such as evening emergence surveys) would normally be undertaken to establish use by bats and, if confirmed, the type of roost and number of bats present, etc. If no roost is identified, precautionary measures would need to be implemented during works to the building. • Moderate Potential – building exhibiting features less suitable for roosting bats (such as superficial gaps within walls, gaps containing debris or cobwebs, limited areas of tiles or generally well-sealed tiling) and offering sub-optimal roosting opportunity. Suitable roosting opportunity may be limited to a single or small number of features that can be searched for signs of use. No further survey Apex Ecology Limited June 2012 Report HB/120603 Land off Belvedere Road, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire Survey for Bats required, although precautionary measures needed during works to building, such as hand stripping of tiles. • Low Potential – building exhibiting features very unlikely to be used for roosting or no features suitable for roosting. In practice, such buildings may have negligible potential for roosting. No further action required. 2.7 A visual inspection of the interiors and exteriors of the buildings for evidence of bats was undertaken. This followed standard methodologies set out in the Bat Mitigation Guidelines (Mitchell-Jones, 2004) and Bat Surveys – Good Practice Guidelines (Bat Conservation Trust, 2007). 2.8 Externally, the buildings were walked around and a visual inspection of features such as windows and window ledges and gaps in the building fabric was made for evidence of bat use. Evidence searched for included droppings and staining from fur-oil and urine. Features such as lifted or broken ridge and common tiles, gaps at the tops of walls, open windows and doorways were noted that could provide potential access points for bats to enter and roost within the building. The survey was undertaken from the ground and aided by the use of close-focusing binoculars and high-powered torches where necessary. 2.9 The internal survey of the buildings followed a similar approach, with a search made for bat droppings, prey residues (such as fly or moth wings) and urine stains, as well as resident bats. Evening Activity Survey 2.10 Two surveys were carried out during the evening to assess the use of the site by foraging and commuting bats. Certain bat species favour woodland edge and hedgerows, whilst other species use open areas such as parkland and areas where agricultural fields are interspersed with woodland, hedgerow and tree- lines. Some species also regularly frequent urban areas. The surveys were undertaken to assess how the proposals may impact upon foraging and commuting bats as the loss of habitats and landscape features can affect both the feeding resources used by bats and also the bats ability to move through the landscape. 2.11 A transect across the site was walked on two occasions. The aim of the transect survey was to record bat activity generally across the site and to identify ‘hotspots’ of activity. The transect incorporated most of the site, including the large former amenity grassland forming the bulk of the habitat present and the bordering hedgerow/scrub, as well as the bowling greens and associated ornamental shrub. The transect was approximately 850m in length and was walked in opposite directions during the two surveys. Both of the surveys commenced just after dusk. 2.12 As well as electronic recordings, notes on location, bat species and activity were made on standard recording sheets. The weather conditions during the surveys are given in the table below. Apex Ecology Limited June 2012 Report HB/120603 Land off Belvedere Road, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire Survey for Bats Date Conditions start Temperatures 22/05/2012 Gentle breeze, dry, Start 16.2˚C. warm, <5% high cirrus End 14.4˚C cloud cover. Had been hot and sunny during the day. 29/05/2012 Warm, still, dry, <5% Start 18.4˚C cloud cover. Again, had End 18.2˚C been warm and sunny during the day. 2.13 The bat detectors used were Batbox Duets (Batbox Ltd, Horsham Rd, Steyning, West Sussex BN44 3AA) and the Anabat SD1 (Titley Electronics, 4 Endeavour Cl, Ballina NSW 2478, Australia). Along with providing information in the field, the Anabat SD1 also records any detected calls to compact flash cards for later analysis via software to allow greater detail of calls to be seen and aid in identifying the bat species recorded where necessary. The software used for analysing the recorded files is Analook W (http://users.lmi.net/corben/Beta/).