New UK Bat Mitigation Guidelines

Focusing on an evidence-based approach

Nearly 20 years on from the last published Bat Mitigation Guidelines (BMG), comes the new, updated CIEEM UK Bat Mitigation Guidelines, with thanks to input from RSK Biocensus staff.

This new CIEEM-published document provides a guide to impact assessment, mitigation and compensation for developments affecting bats.

RSK Biocensus team members part of the supporting Advisory Group

The project to revise the BMG began with a CIEEM-supported research project into the effectiveness of commonly used bat mitigation measures back in 2016. Paola Reason and Stephanie Wray (RSK Biocensus staff) were members of the supporting Advisory Group. An expanded steering group (including CIEEM, Paola, Steph and representatives of all four Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (SNCBs): Natural England, NatureScot, DAERA and Natural Resources Wales) was tasked with overseeing revisions to the BMG.

The first two years were taken up with initial discussions and a literature review. This made it clear that, although there were many published studies that would feed into the new guidance, much of the knowledge required was not readily available. A different means of collating that information was required. Since October 2020, Paola has been instrumental in taking this document to completion. Major stakeholder consultation exercises took place and the guidelines have now been published online.

This guidance extends the scope of the 2004 guidance with a greater focus on developments, plus:

• a method of valuing bat populations and assemblages; and guidance on:
• legislation
• assessing impacts on bats
• mitigation for licensable and non-licensable works
• enhancing development sites and to achieve net gains for bats
• monitoring effectiveness
• signposts and links to published research and guidance

It doesn’t repeat material/guidance which is available elsewhere, nor provide survey guidance , which is published by BCT. It also doesn’t claim to have all the answers but, with a greater focus on setting appropriate objectives for monitoring, it is hoped that the next version in 5-7 years’ time will be even better! To this end, a list of research topics is provided, and there will be a dedicated website through which people can share new information.

The authors would like to thank CIEEM for their dedicated support (especially Sally Haynes), and all of the contributors.

RSK Biocensus is committed to promoting an evidence-based, pragmatic approach to ecological consultancy, and producing industry-wide survey and mitigation guidelines. The revised Bat Mitigation Guidelines will be the benchmark against which every bat mitigation scheme and every licence application will be assessed, and joins the Bird Survey Guidelines in being documents that RSK Biocensus has had a major hand in developing.

UK Bat Mitigation Guidelines reference: Reason, P.F. and Wray, S. (2023). UK Bat Mitigation Guidelines: a guide to impact assessment, mitigation and compensation for developments affecting bats. Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management, Ampfield.