Bat surveys in Hampshire

When planning applications in Hampshire need a bat survey

Planning decisions

Planning applications in Hampshire are decided by your district, borough or city council, or the New Forest or South Downs National Park Authority.

When the council asks for a survey

Each Hampshire district sets its own list; Test Valley asks for a biodiversity checklist and protected species information where older buildings or roof spaces are demolished, trees, scrub or hedgerows removed, or watercourses altered. (Test Valley Borough Council, Descriptions of Local Requirements for Planning Applications (PAR) 2015)

Bat licences

Licences for work affecting a roost are issued by Natural England.

The law

Bats and their roosts in England are protected under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, even when no bats are present.

Local bat records

Ecologists check which bats have been recorded near your site with a data search from Hampshire Biodiversity Information Centre (HBIC), the local environmental records centre.

Local bat group

Hampshire Bat Group is the local volunteer group that records bats in the area.

Bats recorded in Hampshire

Hampshire County Council says 17 of the UK's bat species can be found in Hampshire, including the grey long-eared and greater horseshoe bats.

Species named in the source

• grey long-eared bat
• natterer's bat
• greater horseshoe bat

JNCC designates the Mottisfont Bats Special Area of Conservation for its woodland maternity colony of barbastelle bats, which it describes as the only known one in Hampshire.

Bats follow dark, sheltered routes such as rivers, canals, hedgerows and tree lines to feed and move between roosts. In Hampshire, the River Test, the River Itchen and the Basingstoke Canal are the kind of places bats feed and travel through, so older buildings and mature trees nearby are more likely to need follow-up surveys after a preliminary roost assessment.

Preliminary roost assessments, emergence surveys and costs

Most projects in Hampshire start with a preliminary roost assessment. On larger or greenfield sites, bats are usually covered first by a preliminary ecological appraisal, which checks for other protected species too. If the assessment finds potential roost features or evidence of bats, bat emergence surveys follow, with surveyors using bat detectors to watch the building at dusk. They only run between May and September, so book the assessment early in the year to keep any follow-up surveys inside one season.

Typical UK prices from Checkatrade's bat survey cost guide, last updated November 2024. Your ecologist quotes for your site.

If bats are found: mitigation and licences

Finding roosting bats rarely stops a project in Hampshire. Your ecologist sets out mitigation in the survey report, such as bat boxes or replacement roost spaces and timing works around the bats, and once planning permission is granted applies to Natural England for a European protected species licence. Lower-impact cases can use Natural England's bat mitigation class licence instead, through an ecologist registered to it.

Your bat ecologist in Hampshire

We pass each Hampshire enquiry to one vetted ecologist who covers your site, holds the licences Natural England requires and carries professional indemnity insurance. You get an email naming them before your details are shared, and they quote you directly. We are paid a referral fee by that business, as set out in how our partner network works.

We also arrange bat surveys in Southampton, Reading and Surrey.