European protected bats

What are European protected bats

Chichester District is home to some of the UK's rarest bats, including Barbastelle and Bechstein bats . They roost within 3 sites which are designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) due to their importance. These sites are:

The Mens SAC
Ebernoe Common SAC
Singleton and Cocking Tunnels SAC

The sites are a European level of designation, and as such we refer to the bats that roost within these sites as European protected bats.

Protected bats and development

New development can impact upon bats through loss of habitat and changes to the environment in the areas where they forage and commute. This may be through noise, activity, light, loss of vegetation or other changes to the environment.

The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, often called the 'Habitats Regulations' protects not just the designated sites but the functionally linked supporting habitat. This means the area around the sites that the bats use for commuting and foraging. The area can be extensive.

For the 3 SACs in Chichester District Guidance from Natural England sets out a 6.5km Key conservation area - within which all impacts must be assessed, and a 12km Wider conservation area - where significant impacts or severance to flightlines are to be considered if development is planned.

Even bats that are not a species linked to the SACs within Chichester are still a protected species. It is important that they are also not impacted by new development. Known movement networks are shown on the council's Interactive Map, and this will help developers to identify where there are likely to be bats. Bats can be found outside of these networks.

Mitigating impact upon the European protected bats

The Mens and Ebernoe Common

We know where bats from the The Mens and Ebernoe Common fly, and flightlines which have been mapped through radio tracking studies. Where sites are near to one of these mapped flightlines, applicants will be asked to provide bat surveys for commuting and foraging bats. Bat surveys must use static detectors to accurately record the quiet calls of these species and walked transect surveys.

If the SAC bat species is using the site a detailed mitigation plan will have to be provided. These species are sensitive to artificial illumination, which can harm their feeding behaviour and their routes for finding food. Mitigation must include detailed lighting plans showing how illumination would be minimised.

Singleton and Cocking Tunnels SAC

The Singleton and Cocking Tunnels SAC are mainly hibernation roosts, with the bats dispersing across the landscape in spring to set up maternity roosts. The locations of these are not well understood so there is potential for these bats to be found over a wide area. Therefore the 6.5km and 12km zones set out in Natural England's guidance is very important, as applications that impact on the flightlines of a maternity colony could well occur in the 12km zone due to the distance of the colony from the tunnels.

Applications within the 12km zone and near to records of the Barbastelle of Bechstein's bats and/or those that introduce lighting and sources of light spill into previously dark areas are likely to need bats surveys as outlined on this page.