jack Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 There's a town-centre development near us in a place called Farnham (west of Guildford, and south of Farnborough). According to family friends who've lived here since the early 90s, this development has been a political football for over 25 years. The current scoop: http://farnhamherald.com/article.cfm?id=127472 "WAVERLEY Borough Council has been accused of handing Brightwells developer Crest Nicholson “a licence to kill” - after councillors agreed to relax measures safeguarding a colony of protected pipistrelle bats set to be displaced by the redevelopment of East Street." At least they aren't GCNs, eh @recoveringacademic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeSharp01 Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 37 minutes ago, jack said: family friends Not the batty bats of Farnham surely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliG Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 Pipistrelle bats don't appear to be endangered and their protection is a waste of everyone's time and money (unless you are a bat inspector). GB index of common pipistrelle population from Field Surveys 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 I'm planning to incorporate bat boxes in our Winter Garden roof space. Hopefully Swifts will move in: that would be brilliant. The swallows are already doing close inspections; Sid the Tom Cat is sitting on the scaffolding, licking his lips. And I have found that creating hibernaculae for GCNs much easier than I thought. Anything to keep the little darlings out of the kitchen each time it's warm and raining. We found one (dead) in the cup holder of the back seat in our car. Debbie had been looking at me accusingly - You need a shower dear. - Clearly it had been cooked by the recent weather. How the Hell does a GCN get into a car? Rare? I think not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted June 22, 2018 Author Share Posted June 22, 2018 2 hours ago, AliG said: Pipistrelle bats don't appear to be endangered and their protection is a waste of everyone's time and money (unless you are a bat inspector). Oh, I agree. But as a matter of principle, I'm even more against local councils ignoring the law when it suits them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliG Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 True. For example I’m sure that we’ve all seen traffic wardens parked on a yellow line to give out tickets. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piers Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 On the subject of bats does anyone have recent experience of commissioning a phase 1 ecology survey? What did it cost? I get the feeling that I'm going to be sold exceptionally expensive generic blurb by someone with a pseudo-scientific qualification who has every intention of making me pay for 2-3 more "inspections" over the coming weeks and months. @jack, I'm across the border from Waverley in EHDC. Sounds like you have the inside scoop on all things bats around here ?. Any tips? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 (edited) On 22/06/2018 at 11:33, jack said: There's a town-centre development near us in a place called Farnham (west of Guildford, and south of Farnborough). According to family friends who've lived here since the early 90s, this development has been a political football for over 25 years. The current scoop: http://farnhamherald.com/article.cfm?id=127472 "WAVERLEY Borough Council has been accused of handing Brightwells developer Crest Nicholson “a licence to kill” - after councillors agreed to relax measures safeguarding a colony of protected pipistrelle bats set to be displaced by the redevelopment of East Street." At least they aren't GCNs, eh @recoveringacademic? Presumably they are being shafted by iirc the Dartford Warblers if it is Farnham? There is probably more on a canary than a swift. Edited August 3, 2018 by Ferdinand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 (edited) 53 minutes ago, Piers said: On the subject of bats does anyone have recent experience of commissioning a phase 1 ecology survey? What did it cost? I get the feeling that I'm going to be sold exceptionally expensive generic blurb by someone with a pseudo-scientific qualification who has every intention of making me pay for 2-3 more "inspections" over the coming weeks and months. @jack, I'm across the border from Waverley in EHDC. Sounds like you have the inside scoop on all things bats around here ?. Any tips? Depends on what they are doing. I combined nature with plants/trees, and I knew what to expect before the Surveyor arrived. Out of date with costs, but it should be a few hundred I would think. The Phase 2, now .... ?. Get thyself over to http://www.ecologistdating.com/, and bag an affair and a bus-non-gender-specific-person’s holiday. F Edited August 3, 2018 by Ferdinand 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted August 3, 2018 Author Share Posted August 3, 2018 1 hour ago, Piers said: @jack, I'm across the border from Waverley in EHDC. Sounds like you have the inside scoop on all things bats around here ?. Any tips? Ha, not really! Maybe go around before you get the survey and make sure there's nothing that would make a bat specialist start worrying about the potential for bats to be roosting. Things like access holes or cavities with accessible gaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piers Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 2 hours ago, Ferdinand said: Get thyself over to http://www.ecologistdating.com/, and bag an affair and a bus-non-gender-specific-person’s holiday. Surely this little gem (lettuce?!) wasn't discovered by pure chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell griffiths Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Do you know you have bats? is it just an assumption because you have an old building we had an old timber building, and before our ecology numpty turned up all signs of the little black things had been tidied up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragg987 Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 I started finding about the ecology / survey part and was astonished at the high costs of overnight / early morning surveys, plus they can only do it at particular times of the year. On the off-chance I rang my council and they arranged, for about £50, for an inspection. Friendly chap poked around the roofspace with his torch and declared we were in the clear - there were signs of bats but nothing recent so he was happy to issue a letter saying so. Phew! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piers Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 2 hours ago, ragg987 said: On the off-chance I rang my council and they arranged, for about £50, for an inspection. That's about 5% of the cost that I'm being quoted; £650 for an inspection and £300 to consult some mysterious Bat-database.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 (edited) 4 hours ago, Piers said: Surely this little gem (lettuce?!) wasn't discovered by pure chance. Indeedy-doody. I was thinking precisely of you. Lettuce proceed. I do not have the hirsuteness to grow a hipster, which is probably required. My beard limit is bumfluff. 8-{o> Edited August 3, 2018 by Ferdinand 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 £650 is about the price for an emergent bat survey. Be warned though - if your planning says desk survey followed by emergent survey, you will need it done between May and September only ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivienz Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 And there are seasonal restrictions if it turns out you have a bat roost and need demolition done. We had to get our roof dismantled by hand, with an expensive bat person supervising, before end April/early May in case the bats returned, which would have meant more £££. Another thing is that if the roost is confirmed, you will need to apply for a licence from Natural England. Yet more £££ and it takes up to 8 weeks for it to be turned around by them and you can't proceed without it. Get up into the roofspace and give it a good sweep out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 This is a slightly exaggerated but amusing cautionary tale. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/9827052/Holy-bat-protection-Thats-cost-me-10000.html There was a wonderful comments thread on it which has vanished, F 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivienz Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Knowing what I know now, I'd have taken up the offer from the disembodied voice, no matter how sinister. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grendel Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 we paid about £300 for the first bat survey which said we dont think there are any bats, but we'd better do an emergent survey to make sure...... we had a derelict house a brick tool shed and a wooden shed so they needed 6 people to cover all the exits! pricey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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