EcoVigour provides professional bat surveys to support planning and ensure compliance with wildlife legislation. Using industry best practice and advanced survey techniques, we deliver reliable data and practical solutions to keep your project moving.

Surveys are undertaken by Natural England and Natural Resources Wales Licensed Ecologists and include Preliminary Roost Assessment surveys, where trees and structures are surveyed for evidence of use by bats, activity surveys where features are surveyed at dusk for bats emerging or returning to roosts and intrusive surveys where endoscopes are used to assess potential bat features for evidence of bats.

Bats and their roosts are fully protected under UK law, making appropriate survey and assessment essential for many development projects. EcoVigour delivers a full range of bat surveys in line with current best practice to support planning applications, licensing, and mitigation design.

Why are bat surveys required?

Bat surveys are often required where buildings, trees, or structures may support roosting bats, or where development could impact foraging or commuting routes. They help to:

• Ensure compliance with the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and Habitats Regulations
• Provide robust evidence for planning applications
• Inform mitigation, compensation, and licensing where required
• Reduce risk of delays through early identification of constraints

Our bat survey services include:

• Preliminary Roost Assessments (PRA) of buildings and trees to search for evidence of use by bats.
• Emergence surveys to determine roost presence and activity levels – These are where surveyors observe bats leaving and re-entering roosts
• Automated bat detector surveys for long-term monitoring
• Tree climbing inspections to assess potential roost features in detail
• Activity surveys to understand bat use of a site and surrounding habitat

Best practice and technical guidance

All surveys are undertaken in accordance with recognised guidance, including:

• Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) Bat Surveys for Professional Ecologists (current edition)
• Natural England standing advice and licensing requirements
• CIEEM best practice guidance

Survey effort, timing, and methodology are carefully designed to meet planning authority expectations and ensure robust, defensible results.

Advanced survey techniques
To improve accuracy and efficiency, we utilise a range of modern survey tools and approaches:

• Night vision and thermal imaging equipment to observe bat behaviour in low light conditions without disturbance
• Static and automated detectors to capture detailed activity data over extended periods
• Drone-assisted inspections (where appropriate and compliant) to safely assess inaccessible structures and tree features

These methods allow us to gather high-quality data while minimising risk, cost, and disruption.

Tree climbing bat assessments
Where trees have features with high potential for roosting bats, aerial inspection may be required. Our qualified ecologists undertake tree climbing surveys using rope access techniques to:

• Inspect cavities, splits, and rot holes in detail
• Confirm presence or absence of roosting bats
• Inform accurate impact assessment and mitigation design

All climbing surveys are carried out by trained and experienced personnel, following strict safety protocols and ecological best practice. The key advantage of climbing surveys is that they allow assessment of trees during periods outside the bat survey season (May – September)

Our approach

Surveys tailored to your project scope and programme, using our understanding of guidance and the requirements of planning departments and regulators

• Clear reporting aligned with planning and licensing requirements
• Practical, proportionate mitigation strategies
• Close coordination with clients, planners, and regulators