New Bat Barn Complete

We have recently completed the construction of a bat barn to re-home a group of brown long-eared bats.

The bats were identified in one of the buildings and extensive surveys were carried out over a number of years to understand their population and behaviour.

Re-homing these bats has been necessary due to future construction activities that would disrupt them. We have therefore constructed a bat barn which is a timber building specifically designed to host this species of bats. This mitigation is being carried out under licence granted by Natural England.

The brown long-eared bat is a protected species in the UK and they are most commonly seen around April to October. They have huge ears and need plenty of space to roost in and forage around. At rest, they tuck their ears under their wings to keep them safe. They are known as the whispering bat, as they silently track their prey to catch them with stealth, using their exceptional sense of direction when foraging. As with all UK bats, they are nocturnal, but you might spot them at dusk when they come out to feed on midges and moths.