Planning objection help

Bluebell1000

Hi, we'd appreciate some additional help in responding to a planned development locally. The developers submitted plans to build on an orchard / bat habitat. May I please ask the people on here for thoughts around other material considerations re. Planning, and if there is any wording that we can use to help with getting the council to take objections seriously. Thank you

Section62

Bluebell1000 said:

The developers submitted plans to build on an historic orchard site, which provided a bat habitat.

Does anyone know where the bats are living?  Were/are the bats using the orchard as a flight corridor?

Has the conservation officer commented on the application yet?  If so, they are the person you and others need to lobby (you should be able to get their contact details from the documents in the online case files) - if you don't feel they are taking the issue seriously, complain to the councillors at that local authority.

If they haven't commented yet then try to find out who they are - look at the list of consultees for the application and/or check other applications locally to find contact details.  Make them aware of the strength of feeling locally about the destruction of this habitat.

Bluebell1000

Section62 said:

Bluebell1000 said:

The developers submitted plans to build on an historic orchard site, which provided a bat habitat.

Does anyone know where the bats are living?  Were/are the bats using the orchard as a flight corridor?

Has the conservation officer commented on the application yet?  If so, they are the person you and others need to lobby (you should be able to get their contact details from the documents in the online case files) - if you don't feel they are taking the issue seriously, complain to the councillors at that local authority.

If they haven't commented yet then try to find out who they are - look at the list of consultees for the application and/or check other applications locally to find contact details.  Make them aware of the strength of feeling locally about the destruction of this habitat.

Thank you. I don't think the conservation officer has commented yet. We believe the bats live in the attic of the original house on the development site. I will try and contact them (the conservation officer, not the bats).

Section62

Bluebell1000 said:

Thank you. I don't think the conservation officer has commented yet. We believe the bats live in the attic of the original house on the development site. I will try and contact them (the conservation officer, not the bats).

Did the applicants include a bat survey (or other ecological report) in their application?  If not, is there any correspondence between the case officer and the applicant regarding the need for these?

youth_leader

If you can find their planning permission on line they should have had an ecological 'bat' survey.  A friend who did have a survey told me there is a Bat Mitigation Licence that should be obtained for any works to be legally undertaken,  the license removes the protection and the roosts can be destroyed and the bats disturbed.  Dreadful. 

Having seen what has been done to the kittiwake nests, I do despair.  Good luck.

Bluebell1000

There has been no bat survey. On the application document they claimed there were no trees and no protected species impacted. This developer clearly doesn't care 😥

There is currently no correspondence asking for a bat survey online. I will contact the planning officer and let them know they need to ask for one. I can't find any evidence of a conservation officer, not from looking through comments from other local planning applications. Perhaps the planning officer can help with a contact there too.

babyblade41

We are doing a barn conversion & although the building isn't anywhere near suitable for bats we still had to undertake a survey.

On talking to the chap who did it , if there is any evidence there are bats possible, any development would not be able to go ahead until April/May time when further investigation with recording equipment etc to decipher what type of bats they are .  Depending on what species they are will determine if the project can go ahead 

We knew we didn't have any but nice to know  that there weren't any lurking in any crevices , it would have scuppered any plans we had 

lincroft1710

Without any trees or old barns, what proof is there that there are/were bats on the site?

jonnydeppiwish!

lincroft1710 said:

Without any trees or old barns, what proof is there that there are/were bats on the site?

I think I agree - it’s an orchard, so the trees will be low hung for easy picking, and maintained well. Bats don’t normally live in deciduous trees either but I’m not certain about bat areas where they fly.
It is a standard question for PP where a building is involved though.

This looks more like a NIMBYism, going from the picture the op has shared, where one neighbour wants to build an additional dwelling/s in their back garden and the op isn’t happy.

Section62

jonnydeppiwish! said:

lincroft1710 said:

Without any trees or old barns, what proof is there that there are/were bats on the site?

I think I agree - it’s an orchard, so the trees will be low hung for easy picking, and maintained well. Bats don’t normally live in deciduous trees either but I’m not certain about bat areas where they fly.

I'd expect the issue to be the bats using the long strip of land as a corridor, and possibly also for feeding.  I don't expect the bats to be living in the trees, but they would attract insect life the bats would be able to feed on, as they fly up and down.

Bats have had a hard time in recent decades, they need protecting, and the law is fairly strict in doing so.

daveyjp

Someone being annoying is not a ground for objection, personality doesn't come into it.

Principle of housing on the site.
Access.
Loss of amenity
Overdevelopment are all possibilities.

However its a small in fill development, not 500 houses, so objections would have to be very sound so as not to be seen as NIMBYism.