Bat surveys in Shropshire

When planning applications in Shropshire need a bat survey

Planning decisions

Planning applications in Shropshire are decided by Shropshire Council, or Telford & Wrekin Council in the Telford and Wrekin area.

When the council asks for a survey

Shropshire Council's guidance triggers a bat assessment for works to barns and farm buildings, pre-1914 buildings with gables or slate roofs, older buildings near woodland or water, underground structures, bridges and old trees. (Shropshire Council, Natural Environment Development Guidance Note 1: When is an Ecological Assessment Required?)

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 Shropshire Ecological Data Network (SEDN), the local environmental records centre.

Local bat group

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

Bats recorded in Shropshire

Shropshire Wildlife Trust says the county's lesser horseshoe bats are mostly seen leaving summer roosts in disused farm buildings and barns, then winter in old mines and caves at the Stiperstones and Llanymynech Rocks.

Bats follow dark, sheltered routes such as rivers, canals, hedgerows and tree lines to feed and move between roosts. In Shropshire, the River Severn, the River Teme and the Montgomery 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 Shropshire 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 Shropshire. 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 Shropshire

We pass each Shropshire 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 Birmingham, Liverpool and Coventry.