Bat Surveys in Wakefield by The UK’s No.1 Ecological Consultants

01422 376335

info@jcaac.com

Bat Scoping Surveys in Wakefield from £400.00
Bat Emergence and Re-Entry Surveys in Wakefield from £600.00

Ecological Consultants providing Bat Surveys and Bat Reports throughout Wakefield.

JCA Limited are industry-leading Ecological consultants based in Halifax, West Yorkshire but operating nationwide throughout the United Kingdom. We offer a range of bat surveys for developers, local authorities and smaller private customers undertaken by bat licensed ecologists.

Why Are Bat Surveys Important?

The UK is home to 17 native breeding species of bat, all of which are nocturnal and feed exclusively on insects. They can be found in a range of habitats from woodland to rivers and grasslands to urban gardens, with each species having a preferred habitat type depending on the insects they prey on.

Many species choose to roost in buildings and due to their nocturnal lifestyle, you may not even be aware of their presence in your house. In addition to housing, bats will make use of a wide variety of built structure including bridges, cellars and tunnels, as well as trees, caves, mines and bat boxes.

It is thought that almost all species in the UK have experienced declines in range and loss of roosting habitat/population size over the past few decades, with one of the main causes thought to be development. As more of the landscape is used for housing, bat roosts are being destroyed, feeding habitat removed and vital commuting routes severed. Therefore, it is important to ensure that development is undertaken in a sustainable manner for bats.

The majority of ecological surveys are seasonally constrained. Use our ecology survey calendar to plan your project timetable and factor in any seasonal constraints to project timescales as early as possible to prevent any delays.

Bat Survey Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

If you are you developing on land with existing buildings, trees or natural vegetation or if you are renovating your home, then you may require a bat survey.

All bat species and their roosts in the UK are protected under UK law. The main piece of legislation protecting UK bats is The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (as amended) (better known as the Habitats Regulations). In addition to this, bats and their roosts are also protected in England and Wales under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (as amended).

Our ecologists will then carry out a survey and produce a report for you to submit to your local authority.

We advise that you arrange for a bat survey to be carried out as soon as possible if a development process is likely to negatively impact on bats or their roosts, commuting or foraging habits. In particular if the proposed development site includes buildings or built structures, underground structures or trees that provide roosting.

Planning ahead and arranging a bat survey will save you having to consider the costs of mitigation later on in a project, at a point where it may be too late, and you may find you are engaging in illegal activity. This will also ensure you can implement any necessary actions before the bat survey season begins.

Yes is the answer! Even if you don’t think you have bats, if development site even has the smallest chance of bats being present, it is worth commissioning a survey to ensure no bats are present. If there was a ‘reasonable likelihood’ of bats, it would be much better to have a survey carried out than leaving it to chance.

The good news is that a Bat Scoping Survey can be carried out all year around, so, no matter where you are in the process, one of our Ecologist can undertake a bat survey to find out for sure if there are any bats or if there is the potential for bats to be present on the site.

This gives you the advantage or time to either:

Amend plans, so you do not impact the bats; and
Put in place a mitigation scheme to ensure that the development meets the requirements of third parties and regulations.

JCA Ltd are based in Halifax, West Yorkshire and we operate all around the UK and are able to travel internationally.

Professional and Independent

Professional and truly independent UK-based Arboriculture and Ecological consultants with a 98% pass rate — which we believe can’t be beaten.

Market Leading Service

Our work is widely used as best practices across the Arboriculture and Ecology sector and the JCA specialist team can advise on a wide range of arboriculture and ecologist areas.

Fast and Efficient

JCA Arboricultural and Ecological Services pride ourselves on our quick response to inquiries and fast turnaround times. Ensuring you get what you need on time.

Bat Surveys and The Law

All bat species and their roosts in the UK are protected under UK law. The main piece of legislation protecting UK bats is The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (as amended) (better known as the Habitats Regulations). In addition to this, bats and their roosts are also protected in England and Wales under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (as amended). Under these pieces of legislation, it is an offense to:

Deliberately capture, injure or kill a bat.
Deliberately disturb a bat in a way that would affect its ability to survive, breed or rear young (or hibernate or migrate in England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or (significantly in England, Wales and Scotland) affect the local distribution or abundance of the species.
Damage or destroy a roost (this is an ‘absolute’ offence).
Possess, control, transport, sell, exchange or offer for sale/exchange any live or dead bat or any part of a bat.
Intentionally or recklessly disturb a bat at a roost.
Intentionally or recklessly obstruct access to a roost.

Fast, Low-Cost Bat Surveys Throughout The UK

Are you renovating your property, adding an extension or re-roofing? Are you developing land with existing buildings, trees or natural vegetation? Then you may require a bat survey. We offer a range of bat surveys for developers, local authorities and smaller private customers undertaken by bat licensed ecologists.

or Call 01422 376335

Initial Roost Assessment Survey

A bat potential survey is used to find out if a site is likely to be used by roosting, foraging and/or commuting bats and is the first port of call for bat surveys. A detailed search of habitat, buildings interiors and exteriors and trees are conducted during daylight hours in order to identify potential bat roosting sites and look for evidence of bat activity. This survey can take place at any time of the year. As part of this report, we also include a desktop survey of all records of bats and designated sites within 2km of the site.

Bat Activity Survey

Activity surveys are used to establish how foraging and commuting bats use the site. Transects are designed based on data from initial potential surveys and walked to record the number of bats, flight direction, flight height and behaviour. Automated detectors are also left on site. Again, due to the lifecycle of bats, activity surveys can be conducted between the months of April through to October.

If bat roosts are found during these surveys, recommendations for how to proceed will be provided. This may mean timing works outside of the bat breeding season and applying for a Natural England licence.

Bat Emergence/Re-Entry Survey

After a bat potential survey has confirmed potential for bats, emergence/re-entry surveys are used to find out if bats are using structures or trees on site as roosting sites. Emergence/re-entry surveys are conducted either 15 minutes before sunset and up to two hours after or up to 2 hours before sunrise and 15 minutes after. Depending on the nature of the roost, one – three surveys are usually required. Due to the lifecycle of bats, emergence surveys are conducted between the months of May through to August and can occasionally run into September. We determine the overall impact of development on local/national bat population and behaviour.

Bat Hibernation Survey

A confirmed roost may be used as a hibernation roost, which is of high value in any bat population. A combination of endoscopy and automated detector surveys are employed to establish if a building or structure is home to this high value roost type.

To find out more, you can read about a past Bat Hibernation Survey that we carried out here.

Industry Leading Ecological Consultants in Wakefield

If you think you may require a Bat Survey but are unsure which type, please feel free to get in touch with us and one of our Ecological Consultants will be able to assist you. Our dedicated team provide high-quality surveys for both the public and private sector operating throughout the UK and Internationally, ranging private clients with a single tree to municipal clients with over 50,000 trees. Alternatively, please contact us for a free no- obligation quote on 01422 376335 or email info@jcaac.com