People power Celebration at success to protect popular habitat for bats
ANEIGHBOURHOOD campaign to save “wonderful” bats coming under threat from new homes has been successful.
Locals fought to make sure measures were put in place to protect bats during the construction of two terraced threebed homes in Wellesley Road.
People who live in Marle Hill Parade say they have enjoyed watching the animals fly around their back gardens on warm summer evenings for more than 30 years.
The development will see the demolition of a building known locally as the Bat House - a derelict site that neighbours believe may be home to a pipistrelle bat roost.
A protest in Wellesley Road on Saturday saw residents carry placards with messages including “Save the Bat House”.
The campaigners were delighted to be informed this week that developer Nicholas Upton will carry out the demolition under the supervision of an ecologist to make sure any wildlife is safeguarded.
One of the campaigners, Tess Beck, of St Paul’s Parade, said the protection of the bats is “good news” - but she argued there are lessons to be learned for Cheltenham Borough Council.
Ms Beck believes the council should have made sure a bat impact report was carried out before Mr Upton’s application was approved in 2016.
She said: “The developer is going to demolish the potential roost by hand, brick by brick, under the supervision of the ecologist James Godber.
“We are very pleased to hear this. Thanks to the community coming together and working with wildlife charities, the police and the developer, the correct procedures are going to be followed to safeguard any bats living on site.
“What we want to make sure is that any future planning application to Cheltenham Borough Council for a similar site has a bat survey done at the start of the process.
“Planning authorities have a legal obligation to consider whether bats are likely to be affected by a proposed development.”
Ms Beck added: “It’s been wonderful for neighbours having a nature reserve in their back gardens.”
Mike Holmes, the council’s head of planning, said: “We treat each planning case individually and follow all legislation applicable. Each species of bat has its own preferred types of roost.
“It would not be appropriate to request a bat survey for every single development where the demolition of a building was required, particularly if there was no indication that bats had been present on the basis of knowledge provided by bodies such as Gloucestershire Centre for Environmental Records or indeed neighbours.
“In this case at the time of deciding on the earlier planning applications the council had not received information to indicate the presence of bats and the applications were dealt with accordingly.
“When deciding on a later planning application the council was alerted by GCER that bats were present in the area, but no evidence of bats were found on the site.
“The legal onus remains on the developer to not wilfully destroy the habitat of protected species and is covered by separate legislation (the Countryside and Wildlife Act).”
Mr Upton was approached for comment. conor.gogarty@reachplc.com