New guidelines have been published by the Bat Conservation Trust relating to Landscape and Urban Design.

The biodiversity Planning Toolkit is a new online resource for anyone involved in the design and planning process. This blog summarises its features and how it can be used to inform development design.

Halloween is here and it seems that bats are everywhere, but most of those not made of plastic are likely to be finding places to get safely tucked up for the winter, hibernating in buildings, caves and trees across the country. But whilst you carve your pumpkin and don your witch’s hat, spare a thought for our little sleepy friends. They are often misunderstood, and many an hour of consultant’s time is spent explaining that they are not half as scary or problematic as people think!

Natural England has recently raised concern regarding works affecting bats and their roosts being undertaken without the appropriate mitigation licence. So when is a mitigation licence required and when is a precautionary method of working appropriate?