Temporary halt to home upgrades in Dartford thanks to matchbox sized bats
Dartford Borough Council shares its experience navigating project challenges
Located 18 miles south-east of central London, the borough of Dartford is home to approximately 116,000 residents.
Originally a medieval market town, its proximity to the capital London may play a part in the large growth in population across the past few decades.
Dartford Borough Council, who is upgrading homes and buildings a to reduce emissions and provide warmer, more comfortable and cheaper to heat homes for its residents.
Sandra Woodfall, council environmental promotions and climate change officer, said: “For many of our residents, energy efficiency upgrades aren’t just about lowering emissions, they’re about making sure families can afford their energy bills and can be confident they’ll be warm in the winter.”
For many of our residents, energy efficiency upgrades aren’t just about lowering emissions, they’re about making sure families can afford their energy bills and can be confident they’ll be warm in the winter.
To support this ambition, the council has led energy efficiency retrofit initiatives across the borough for years. Recently, such works were accelerated thanks to government funding through the Home Upgrade Grant Phase 2.
However, when contractors flagged that protected animals were potentially located in the roof space of one of the homes to be upgraded, the project came to a temporary halt.
Sandra added: “It’s important when we’re considering our environmental impact that we’re not just looking at people, homes and buildings, but the whole ecosystem around these homes and buildings and the impact we may have on that.”
Now, the council wants to share its experience as a reminder to those delivering similar works alongside encouragement to remain open-minded, agile and considerate of any ecological implications of energy efficiency upgrades in all types of buildings – whether homes or otherwise.
The Home Upgrade Grant provided funding for energy efficiency upgrades for low-income households and those off the gas grid in England. It aimed to improve the energy performance of homes, lift families out of fuel poverty and progress towards the UK’s commitment to reach net zero by 2050.
Funding for this scheme is delivered on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Through the Home Upgrade Grant, Dartford Borough Council delivered upgrades to a total of 92 homes across the borough.
The majority of these upgrades focused on solar PV, followed by loft insulation, Park Home Insulation and several properties received solid wall insulation too.
It was these two measures that were set for installation at a rural area of Dover District Council, where an elderly couple lives.
However, upon discover of suspected bat droppings in the loft, work was temporarily paused to allow for the appropriate ecological surveys to take place and confirm suspicions.
Sandra said: “It was only at the stage where we mentioned this that the residents flagged that they had seen bats in their area, although they had no idea that could mean a risk of these ‘unexpected flatmates’ residing in their property.”
Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, all UK bat species and their roosts are protected and cannot be disturbed.
To comply with the relevant legislation, the council had to undertake multiple surveys and tests, initially aiming to confirm the presence of bats and then to confirm how proposed upgrades may impact them.
These surveys were costly in both time and finances, with the relevant surveys alone adding more than £2k to the project bill.
When surveys confirmed the presence of common pipistrelle bats, the project had to abandon the solar portion of its upgrade and progress only with loft insulation.
Pipistrelle bats are the most common bats in the UK and can be as small as a matchbox.
Ecological surveys identified the proposed installation of solar panels would cause too much disruption and noise to the protected species.
However, council representatives persisted with work at the property, aware of the difference that even a single energy efficiency measure – such as loft insulation – can make to the warmth and comfort of the residents’ home.
The install was overseen by an environmental consultant.
Key to project success, says Sandra, was maintaining an open an honest channel of communication with the residents to explain the circumstance and process.
Sandra said: “From this experience, we’ve learnt more about the importance of identifying ecological risks early.
“When delivering future projects, our engagement will explicitly incorporate a question on possible wildlife sightings to support this.”
When delivering future projects, our engagement will explicitly incorporate a question on possible wildlife sightings to support this.
Key advice for homes and buildings at risk of roosting bats:
- ask residents or buildings users if they have noticed any wildlife sitings in the home, building or area to identify risks early
- engage ecological surveys as soon as you’re aware of potential habitats to allow time for stunted project delivery within scheme funding windows
- work closely with contractors to ensure possible sitings are identified, treated and progressed appropriately
- consider dedicated ecological compliance budgets to cover associated costs
- remain agile in your delivery to adapt to changing circumstances, noting relevant funding requirements and timescales throughout
- retain documentation where surveys are completed to avoid duplication of similar work
- maintain honest and consistent communication where setbacks occur, ensuring building users or residents understand the cause of the delay and an expected timeline for resolution
The Bat Conservation Trust supports local bat groups across the UK. The below resources from its website may also be of interest:
