FEATURE CONSERVATION
CREATURE COMFORTS Coming into contact with wildlife could have significant effects on your project timelines and feasibility
C arrying out building work in the Scottish Highlands and on the country’s islands means Angus Reid-Evans has encountered his fair share of conservation challenges. “Building in Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), we’re not allowed to pour wet concrete because of the spill-off,” says Reid-Evans, Director and Owner of Spey Building and Joinery, based 45 minutes from Inverness. “We have to cast foundation pads off-site and transport them in. “When working on islands, we need to ensure we don’t inadvertently transport contaminated materials such as soil with an invasive species in it onto the island. The same is true of rodents. We need to make sure we don’t bring them to the island.” It is quite common for rural projects to be affected to some degree by conservation concerns. Reid-Evans says projects need to be adjusted to incorporate measures that mitigate disturbance to the environment, but even with those changes, permission to build may be denied. One such reason to adapt the build is when teams happen upon wildlife inhabiting the land near a site. “We’ve encountered barn owls and had to create a box for them,” Reid-Evans says. “We have been restricted in our building so we don’t disturb bats that are in maternity roosts or in hibernation. “Different species have different breeding times so you can be unlucky with several months when you can’t work in these areas. Nesting birds can also restrict building activities due to the noise created with nail guns, for example. So we use traditional hammers to minimise the noise.” Birds, bats and hedgehogs – even newts and certain types of flies – are protected species, with habitats that must not be disturbed, which can sometimes complicate work for builders. Bats can be found across urban, suburban and rural settings, in houses, churches, barns and industrial buildings, culverts, tunnels, caves and trees. “They could turn up in most areas and on a variety of different types of projects,”
says Jan Collins, Head of Biodiversity at Bat Conservation Trust. “The places bats live in are called roosts,” Collins explains, “but in law they are called ‘breeding sites’ or ‘resting places’. Bats can access structures using gaps of a few centimetres and roost in narrow crevices – behind hanging tiles, in soffits, under lead flashing and ridge tiles, on top of gable walls – or in open voids such as attics, barns and cellars.” Penalties for affecting bats and their roosts Bats are legally protected in law against capture, injury, killing and disturbance, as well as obstruction and damage or destruction of their roosts, Collins explains. Penalties for breaking the laws range from restorative justice, fines (one was set at £600,000), or even prison.
“Damage or destruction of a bat roost is an ‘absolute offence’, which means there is no need to prove criminal intent,” Collins adds. As is the case with development, liability is also a team effort. “Those managing and instructing the work hold responsibility as well as those carrying it out,” Collins explains. “For example, if a developer is aware of a bat roost but does not tell a roofer and the roost is destroyed without a licence in place, then the developer holds vicarious liability even though the roofer actually committed the offence. This may result in individual, corporate or joint liability. The evidence will determine accountability.” How to protect bats Avoiding any impacts on bats is the best course of action. Collins advises builders to work according to the ‘mitigation hierarchy’, which involves: ● avoidance – as bats are legally protected to the highest level, the first step should be to completely avoid impacts by the way the project is planned; ● mitigation – reduce impacts on bats, paying attention to sensitive timing or appropriate lighting; and ● compensation – a last resort, it involves recreation of any habitats that will be unavoidably lost. Further safeguarding actions, says Collins, include the following: ● considering bats at a project’s tender stage to account for their protection in the project design, budget and timetable;
Dylan Allman is the founder of Be Hedgehog Aware
Master Builder 24
www.fmb.org.uk
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