Fast, LPA-ready ecology surveys across the UK

No. We provide wider planning ecology support, including preliminary ecological appraisals, nesting bird checks, badger surveys, biodiversity enhancement plans, pre-works checks, monitoring and construction-phase ecology support.

Yes. We can provide preliminary badger surveys, badger risk assessments and pre-works badger checks. Where licensable works may be required, we can advise on the next steps.

Contact us and we will help you identify the right ecological support for your project. We can review your site, the proposed works and any planning conditions together, then recommend the most suitable surveys, reports or next steps.

A bat survey is an ecological assessment used to identify whether bats are present in a building, tree or structure and, if so, how they are using it. Surveys help determine the species involved, the level of activity and whether roosting or other habitat use is taking place. They are essential for meeting UK planning and legal requirements when development may affect protected bat habitats.

You may need a bat survey if your project involves work that could disturb buildings, trees or structures where bats may be present. This includes renovations, roof work, demolition and tree felling. Identifying the need early in the planning process helps avoid delays and keeps you on the right side of UK wildlife protection law.

• Small dark droppings under gaps, ridges or soffits. Bat droppings crumble to a dust of insect fragments when rubbed, unlike mouse droppings.
• Staining or grease marks around gaps where bats squeeze in and out.
• Bats seen leaving at dusk or returning around dawn.
• Insect remains, such as moth wings, under a feeding perch.

Often there are no signs at all, which is why a trained ecologist inspects the site rather than relying on a quick look.

Stop work in that area and get advice before carrying on. Bats and their roosts are protected by law, and it can be an offence to disturb them or damage a roost, even when the bats are not there at the time. Contact us and we will tell you what to do next.

A preliminary roost assessment (PRA) is a visual inspection to assess whether bats are likely to be present in a structure or tree. It also sets how many follow-up surveys are needed.

A preliminary ecological appraisal (PEA) gives a broader overview of a site's ecological value, identifying protected habitats and species beyond bats.

Where a PRA finds that a structure could support bats, or finds evidence of them, we carry out dusk emergence surveys. These are non-invasive: we observe and record bat activity at dusk to confirm whether bats are using the site, without disturbing them.

Not necessarily. Finding bats on your site does not automatically block planning approval. Mitigation may be needed, such as timing works to avoid sensitive periods or building in bat-friendly features. Early surveys let you plan for this and avoid costly delays.

Preliminary roost assessments can be done at any time of year. Dusk emergence surveys are seasonal, and the bat survey season runs from May to September. How many visits you need depends on how suitable the structure is for bats:

• Negligible suitability: no further survey is needed.
• Low suitability: one dusk emergence visit, carried out between May and August.
• Moderate suitability: two visits.
• High suitability, or evidence of roosting bats: three visits.

If the roost assessment is carried out after August, any structure rated above negligible normally has to wait until the following May for its emergence surveys. Booking the assessment early avoids a year's delay.

Yes. Our surveys follow the Bat Conservation Trust's good practice guidelines and are carried out by qualified, experienced ecologists, with a licence held where the work requires one. Reports are written to meet the needs of local planning authorities.

Yes. We can prepare ecology reports, biodiversity enhancement plans, method statements and the supporting information needed to discharge ecology-related planning conditions.

Yes. Subject to availability, we offer fast-track ecological assessments for urgent planning or construction requirements.