Bat Surveys
Professional bat surveys by licensed ecologists to identify roosts, assess impacts, and ensure your project proceeds compliantly.
What This Service Involves
All bat species and their roosts in the UK are fully protected by law, so if your site or building could support bats, a specialist survey is essential. Our team of licensed ecologists carries out a full range of bat-survey work to identify bat presence, roosts, commuting and foraging routes and to ensure your project can proceed confidently and compliantly.
Our Bat Survey Process
Preliminary Roost Assessment (PRA)
A daylight inspection of buildings, trees or other structures to evaluate whether there is potential for roosting bats.
Activity Surveys
If potential is confirmed, a programme of activity surveys (dusk emergence, dawn returns), tree or roof inspections, static detector monitoring or transect surveys to determine species use, roost size and function (summer maternity roost, hibernation, commuting).
Detailed Reporting
Preparation of a detailed report that summarises findings, assesses impacts on bats, recommends mitigation if needed, and integrates into your planning or development programme.
Licence & Mitigation Support
Where necessary, support for licence applications (such as an EPS licence for development affecting bats), design of mitigation/compensation measures, and supervision of works to ensure legal compliance.
Why You Might Need a Bat Survey
- Roosting potential: Any building, tree, bridge, tunnel or structure may offer bat roosting opportunities - even small cracks or crevices can be used.
- Planning requirements: Your planning application or development might be delayed or refused if a bat survey is not submitted when required by the local planning authority or statutory nature conservation body.
- Legal protection: Unplanned discovery of bats during works can lead to legal risk, licence suspension, project delays or increased costs. All roosts (even if unoccupied at the time) are protected.
- Design certainty: Early survey work builds certainty into your design and programme, allowing mitigation or site design to accommodate bats rather than reactively adjusting later.
What Our Bat Survey Service Includes
- Qualified and licensed ecologist on-site to undertake roost assessment, activity surveys and specialist inspections.
- Appropriate survey methods: internal/external building inspections, tree inspections, dusk/dawn emergence surveys, static acoustic monitoring, transect surveys.
- Landscape assessment for foraging, commuting and habitat connectivity.
- Clear report with survey results, habitat context, bat species (if identified), roost status, impact assessment, and recommendations for design, mitigation or licensing.
- Optional follow-on services: mitigation design, licence application support, monitoring and supervision of works where bats are present.
Legislation & Policy We Work To
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
All bat species and their roosts are protected.
Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017
Making it illegal to deliberately disturb or damage bat roosts even if bats are not present.
BCT Good Practice Guidelines
Survey guidelines such as the Bat Conservation Trust's "Bat Surveys for Professional Ecologists: Good Practice Guidelines".
The Benefits to You
Clarity on Risk
You gain clarity on whether bats are present, the level of risk and what the implications are for your project.
Reduced Delays
Helps you plan your development/design around ecological constraints, reducing risk of unexpected delays or cost escalation.
Stronger Submissions
Strengthens your planning submission or licence application with professional, defensible survey data.
Peace of Mind
Gives you peace of mind that all legal obligations around bats are being considered and managed proactively.