Post on 30-Dec-2021
Cartmel Ecology Ltd Dr Sarah Cartmel
Cymerau Isaf Blaenau Ffestiniog Gwynedd. LL41 4BN
Tel. 01766 762437 email: sarah@cartmelecology.co.uk
BatSurveyofGilfach,Abererch,Pwllheli.LL535YF
GridrefSH3867736634
ReportandSurveybySarahCartmel(BatLicenceNumber:78186:OTH:CSAB:2018)
SurveyAugust2018
A bat survey in August 2018 of Gilfach found a few soprano pipistrelle bats roos<ng in twoloca<ons. A licence from NRW will be required before work to demolish the residence can beundertaken.Demoli<on should take commence in September/OctoberormidMarch toendApril,the<mewhenbatscanbedisturbedorlesslikelytobepresent,butmi<ga<onmustbeinplace.
BatsurveyofGilfach Cartmel Ecology Ltd
BatSurveyofGilfach,Abererch,PwllheliGridreference:SH3867736634
1. IntroducOon
a) IamrequestedtocarryoutabatsurveyofGilfach,Abererch,Pwllheliwithreferencetoa
proposaltodemolishtheresidenceandbuildareplacementproperty.Iamnotinreceipt
ofanyplans.
b) Theproperty is locatedapproximately1kmto thenorthofPwllheliand0.5kmto the
westofAbererchinsmallresidenNalareajustofftheA499(Figure1).
c) The property is located at the south end of a cul-de-sac which is on an east facing
escarpmentwhichrunssouthtoPwllheli.Thereiswoodlandandscrubtothewestand
southofthepropertyandgrazedfieldstotheeast(Figure2).ThereisvegetaNoncoverall
along the escarpment and this habitat provides sheltered foraging areas for bats and
goodconnecNvitywithinthelandscape.
d) Therearenositesdesignatedforbatswithin2kmofthisproperty.
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Figure 1. Gilfach location (in red square)
BatsurveyofGilfach Cartmel Ecology Ltd
2. Methods
a) Bats are nocturnal and during daylight hourswill rest at a roost site. The roost site is
oXenabuilding,inwhichtheyhangfromceilingsorwallsortheymaytuckthemselves
intosmallcreviceswhereitisoXendifficulttoseethem.
b) During the daylight, an internal and external inspecNon of the building took place,
searchinganyaccessiblecrevices.Allsignsofbatswerenoted(droppings,scratchmarks,
grease stains) and any bats seen were idenNfied to species where possible (without
disturbingthebats).
c) Atdusk,twosurveyorswatchedtheexteriorofthebuildingforanyemergingbats(over
two nights). The surveyors used a bat detector (EchoMeter Touch, EchoMeter 3+ and
BatboxDuet)whichconverttheultrasonicsoundsemi^edbybatsintosoundsaudibleto
the human ear and also records any bat passes detected. A thermal imaging camera
(HelionXP28)wasalsousedtosurveypartofthebuilding.
d) ThebatrecordingswereanalysedusingKaleidoscope4.5(WildlifeAcousNcs)toprovide
informaNononthebatspeciesandandamountofbatacNvityatthesite.
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Figure 2. Gilfach within the landscape
BatsurveyofGilfach Cartmel Ecology Ltd
e) Surveyswere undertaken by licensed bat ecologist S. Cartmel with assistance fromD.
Corduff.
3. DayOmeSurveyResults
a) Adaylightsurveywascarriedoutonthe14thAugust2018.
b) ThepropertyisadetachedhousewithacomplexhippedroofandvariousaddiNonalflat
roofed secNons (Figure 3). There are no roof voids and an internal inspecNonwas not
carriedoutasallspaceiscurrentlyresidenNalwithinthebuilding.
c) Theexteriorofthebuildingisrenderedwithnosuitablecrevicesforbats.Theeavesare
sealedwithlimitedplaceswherebatscouldgainaccess.
d) TheflatroofedsecNoninFigure3hasaveryNghtfidngroof,withnoapparentaccessfor
bats.
e) TherearegapsundermanyoftheridgeNleswhichcouldallowbatsaccessintocrevices
andsomeoftheslatesontheroofalsohadgaps(Figure4).There isachimneyonthe
southelevaNonwhichisrenderedwithnoobviousgapsforbats.
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Figure 3. North facing elevation of Gilfach
BatsurveyofGilfach Cartmel Ecology Ltd
f) TheeastfacingpartofthepropertyhasadormerintheupperfloorsecNonandasloping
roofonasinglestoreysecNon(Figure5).Therearesomecrevicesbelowtheslatesonthe
edgeofthelowerroofwherebatscouldaccess,butnodroppingswereseen.
g) Attherearoftheproperty(westelevaNon)thereisadormerbuiltintotheroof(Figure6)
withnoobviouscrevicesbuttheedgeshavesomepotenNalforcrevicedwellingbatsto
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Figure 4. View of west and south side of roof at Gilfach
Figure 5. East facing elevation of Gilfach
BatsurveyofGilfach Cartmel Ecology Ltd
gainentry.Thereisalsoacorrugatedmetalshedwithacurvedroofbuiltupagainstthe
rearoftheproperty.
h) No evidence of bats was found on the exterior of the building, but there are many
potenNalroosNnglocaNons.
i) TherearetreesandscrubvegetaNonimmediatelytothesouthandwestoftheproperty
and a tall bank on thewest side provides shelter. The garden on the east side slopes
steeplydowntoagriculturalfields.
4. EveningSurvey
a) Aneveningsurveywascarriedoutbetween20:25and21:50hoursonthenightof the
14th August 2018 (sunset at 20:47 hours). The weather was warm with a starNng
temperatureof18℃,100%cloud,a light (occasionallybrisk) southwestwindanddry.
Weather condiNons remained the same at the end of the survey apart from the
temperaturedroppingto17℃.
b) FivesopranopipistrellebatsPipistrelluspygmaeuswereseentoemergefromtheblack
corrugatedmetalshedattherearofthepropertybetween20:37and21:10hours(Figure
7).
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Figure 6. West and north facing elevations of Gilfach
BatsurveyofGilfach Cartmel Ecology Ltd
c) TwosopranopipistrellebatswereseentoemergefromunderaridgeNleonthesouth
side of the roof, the ridge line on the east side of chimney at 21:02 and 21:05 hours
(Figure8).
d) Nootherbatswereseentoemergefromtheproperty.
e) A commonpipistrellePipistrelluspipistrelluswas seenflyingpast thebuilding at 20:53
hoursfromsouthtonorthalongthewest(rear)elevaNonandthetallbankbehindthe
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Figure 7. Emergence points on shed
Figure 8. Emergence point
BatsurveyofGilfach Cartmel Ecology Ltd
building.AMyo<ssp.batwasheardat21:12and21:15hoursflyingpasttherearofthe
building. A lesser horseshoe batRhinolophus hipposideros was heard at 21:14 hours
flyingpasttherearofthebuilding.AnoctuleNyctalusnoctula washeardat21:16and
21:36hoursflyingoverhead.
5. Conclusions
a) ThebatsurveyofGilfach,AbererchinAugust2018hasfoundasmallnumberofsoprano
pipistrellebatsroosNngintheresidenNalpropertyandthecorrugatedmetalshedatthe
rearoftheproperty.
b) Theproposedworkstodemolishthebuildingandconstructareplacementbuildingwill
disturb roosNng bats and a licence to disturb a European Protected Species will be
requiredfromNaturalResourcesWales(NRW)beforetheworkcantakeplace.
c) ThenumberofbatspresentatthissiteisrelaNvelylow(onlyamaximumof7batswere
seentoemerge)andtheproposedworks, ifcarriedoutwithmiNgaNonwillnot impact
onthelocalpopulaNon.
d) AllbatspeciesareprotectedundertheWildlifeandCountrysideAct1981asamendedby
theCRoWAct2000andConservaNonofHabitatsandSpeciesRegulaNons2017.Builders
shouldbeawareofthepossibilitythatbatsmaybepresent(atanyNmeofyear),beneath
roof slates, under ridge Nles, or in any small cracks and crevices in the stonework or
aroundroofNmbers. Ifanybatsarediscovered,workshouldbesuspendedandadvice
should be sought immediately fromNatural ResourcesWales (NRW) or a licensed bat
ecologist.
6. MethodStatement/MiOgaOonRequirementsforGilfach(tobeincludedinanEPSapplicaOon)
A. Mitigation for disturbance to existing bat roost
e) AsmallcolonyofsopranopipistrellebatshavebeenfoundtoroostintheroofofGilfach
and the adjacent corrugatedmetal shed. The residence is to be demolished (including
theshed)andanewpropertybuilt.
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BatsurveyofGilfach Cartmel Ecology Ltd
f) The pipistrelle bats require alternaNve roosNng sites during the demoliNon. This will
consistof threeSchweglerwoodcretebatboxes (type tobeagreedwithbatecologist)
installed.Therearenosuitabletreesonthesiteandboxesmayhavetobeinstalledon
tallposts.ThelocaNonswillbefinalisedoncethedemoliNonworkisplannedtoproceed.
g) SuitablenewroosNngsiteswillbeprovidedforthebatswhenthehouseisre-built.This
willcompriseofbatboxesbuiltintotheexteriorsouthfacingwallandaccessintoasmall
secNonofroof.Detailsofthenewpropertyarenotyetavailablebutthenewroostsites
willbeincorporatedintoanynewplanswithinputfromthebatecologist.
h) The roofwillbe linedwith tradiNonal roofing feltType1F inanyareas thatbatshave
accessto.
i) Noexternallightswillbefi^edclosetothebatboxesortothebataccesspoint.
B. Safe Working Methods
a) Thelicensedbatecologistwillbeonsitewhenthekeyareasoftheroof(ridgeNles,slates
overlappingwallsandflatroofedsecNon)areremovedandthecorrugatedmetalshedis
dismantledas there isa chanceofbatsbeingpresent.The licensedbat consultantwill
remove the bats to a safe place and release in the evening providing the weather is
suitable.
b) ThebatconsultantwillliaisewiththebuildingcontractortoagreethesizeandlocaNonof
anyrequiredcrevicesandnewaccesspointsandlocaNonofbatboxes.Contractorswill
bealertedtothepossibilitythatbatsmaybepresent(atanyNmeofyear),beneathroof
slates,underridgeNles,orinanysmallcracksandcrevicesinthestoneworkoraround
roofNmbers.Ifanybatsarediscovered,workshouldbesuspendedandadviceshouldbe
sought immediately from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) or from the licensed bat
consultant.
B. Timing
a) The bat boxes will be installed before any work commences, preferably at least two
monthsbeforethedemoliNonworkcommences.
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BatsurveyofGilfach Cartmel Ecology Ltd
b) It ispossible forpipistrellebatstohibernate inthesameroofthattheyroost induring
summerthereforeworkthatcoulddisturbthebatsmustnotcommenceinthepeakof
winter(DectoMarch).
C. Monitoring
a) The building and bat boxes will be monitored in the second, third and fiXh years
following construcNon to determinewhether the colony of soprano pipistrelle bats
haveremainedatthesite.IfnobatsarefoundtoberoosNngatthepropertyworkto
improve the roosts will be considered in consultaNon with NRW and implemented
whenappropriate.
ReportandsurveybySarahCartmel3rdSeptember2018
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