Environmental statement and bat surveys

The brief

Dorchester Group were proposing to redevelop the residential and office buildings of a former American airbase. The development would include residential and office buildings and facilities for education including green space.

Before planning submission the client needed to carry our ecological surveys for protected species, including bat surveys on 150 buildings.

What we did

• We guided the client in negotiations with the local planning authority’s ecologist to agree a pragmatic survey programme and methodology.
• Rapid assessments of each of the buildings were undertaken in order to update previous surveys.
• Dusk emergence and dawn return to roost surveys and internal inspections were subsequently conducted on buildings with high potential for bats.
• Early liaison with the client and the local planning authority enabled efficient project planning, allowing all of the surveys to be completed in the optimal period and within one season.
• We produced a comprehensive report setting out the methodology and results.
• We also provided advice on the legal and planning policy issues and recommendations on how to address these.
• We wrote the ecology chapter of the Environmental Statement, which was submitted to the local planning authority as part of the overall planning application.