Preliminary Roost Assessment
Preliminary Roost Assessment
Bats
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The West Midlands region has many of the 17 bat species circulating throughout the UK. If at any point a development site has the potential for bats to roost, a Preliminary Roost Assessment (PRA) survey will be the necessary next step.
Also known as a scoping survey, a PRA acts as an opportunity for an ecological consultant to conduct a thorough internal and external inspection of the relevant area. At this point, the presence of bats can be determined, as well as the mitigation or compensation measures to determine whether any further surveys are required.
Preliminary Roost Assessment (PRA) / Bat Scoping Survey
What is a Bat Scoping Survey?
Also known as a Preliminary Roost Assessment (PRA), a bat scoping survey is the initial survey used to confirm or deny the occupancy of roosting bats or bat roosts on a proposed development site. Over the course of a comprehensive review of the site, all rural and urban areas will be analysed at length, with the results of the assessment and the discovery of ecological features dictating any need for further surveys.
A PRA may have been advised following prior ecological surveys such as a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) or Ecological Impact Assessment (EcIA), it could have been requested by the planning department of the local council, or you might have opted to arrange an inspection as a precautionary measure to bypass any unexpected issues later in the planning process.
The Purpose of a Scoping Survey
PRAs to Assist with Planning
With local bat populations throughout the UK suffering a steady decline, relevant organisations recognise them as a European protected species. Preliminary Roost Assessments (PRAs) feature within the list of protected species surveys, focusing specifically on individual bats and bat roosts.
Statutory nature conservation organisations such as the Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) identify scoping surveys as necessary bat surveys to record bat presence, gauge suitability for roosting bats on the site, and ensure that all developers avoid harming bats in their development plans.
In addition to ensuring the safety of the many species of bats in the West Midlands, a PRA is a crucial component to support planning applications. After an assessment has been completed, the necessary mitigation measures have been chosen and the bat survey report has been passed on to the local planning authority, no remaining obstacles should stand in the way of securing planning permission.
Without each ecology report from the required surveys, a local authority will be unable to even consider reviewing a planning application.
Preliminary Roost Assessment Guidelines
Scoping Bat Survey Process
Preliminary Roost Assessment Report
Protected Species Licences
After the first step of conducting a desk study to retrieve any existing information regarding high quality habitats on the development site, the bat surveyor will perform an in-person site visit.
An external and internal inspection will confirm whether the site falls within the negligible, low, moderate or high suitability category. Evidence of bats will also be taken into consideration, such as bat carcasses, bat droppings, feeding remains, urine stains and potential roosting features like gable ends, hanging tiles and slate roofs.
A PRA report will be created immediately after the inspection has been undertaken, detailing the results and indicating what steps need to be taken before the developer can submit a viable application for planning consent to the local planning authorities.
Any moves to accommodate roosting bats will be listed, including potential further survey work, such as bat emergence surveys / bat activity surveys – the second stage in the bat survey process to monitor potential access points.
Before initiating in any actions that would see experienced ecologists relocating a protected species or destroying a habitat, a European protected species licence (EPSL) would be needed.
Mitigation licences are available for all protected species during varying levels of intervention. Same is applicable for obtaining a bat survey licence, with Natural England / Natural Resources Wales providing a bat mitigation class licence whenever one is required. Fortunately, our ecological services extend to assisting clients with applications.
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PRA Surveys in the West Midlands
Our Approach
Our Team
Our Costs
Located in the West Midlands County, one of our main selling points is that we offer complete dedication to covering the nearby area, giving our clients expert advice that applies to the local authorities and the specific development proposals.
Whatever the nature of your development work, speak to Midland Ecology and book in a survey to support roosting bats, demonstrate fulfilment of your legal obligation to conservation, and secure planning applications from your local council.
Our many years experience in providing bat surveys show our skill for conducting a preliminary bat roost assessment for development projects in the best way possible and with consideration to the latest best practice guidelines.
Through the use of highly-specialised survey equipment such as bat detectors and bat boxes, and the option of leading other ecology survey services such as a PEA survey or further protected species surveys, our ecology team covers all areas.
Instead of making all clients pay the same price for a PRA and the resulting bat report, we judge the cost of each client’s needs based on the size of the development site and the scale of the planning project.
A proposed development we work on could range anywhere from sites in developed towns with negligible suitability for bats to sites in rural areas with a high likelihood that the plans will obstruct access to bats and risk disturbing bats.
Get Your PRA Quote Today
If a bat roost is present on your site, you’ve identified bats found in the vicinity or you’re conducting barn conversions, re-roofing or any other type of planning project with potential features suitable as a roosting site, instructing our bat surveyors to carry out a bat survey at the next available opportunity would be a recommend step forward. It is, however, important to bear in mind the best time to book preliminary roost assessments, as while a PRA can be undertaken at any time of year, dusk emergence and dawn re-entry surveys are undertaken strictly between May and September.
Our ecological consultancy enables developers to submit requests for bat scoping surveys, bat activity surveys, preliminary ecological appraisals, ecological impact assessments and any other type of ecology survey, and once we have all the further information we need, our team can provide you with a free quote for you to look over. Fill out a quote form, call us or check out the other methods of contacting Midland Ecology for further details. One or several ecologists can then assist you with your development proposal at the earliest opportunity, starting with a physical inspection of your site as part of a PRA, and if needed, move into returning for multiple visits to continue with an emergence and re-entry survey of suspected entry and exit points.
All of our ecological consultants operate with extensive experience, relevant qualifications and sufficient licensing under their belts, as well as compliance with associated legislation such as the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 that ensure bats are protected accordingly. Using the specific details of your development project, experience operating across the West Midlands County and the corresponding counties, a vast understanding of certain species of rare animals and valuable plants and an ability to create comprehensive bat reports, each ecological surveyor ensures that a preliminary roost assessment survey results with everything you need for securing planning applications from your local planning authority.