European Protected Species Licence for Bats
Where a bat roost is to be impacted by development activities, a European Protected Species Licence (EPSL) may be required to legally permit such activities to proceed. These licences are granted by the relevant statutory authority.
Licence requirements may include an appropriate level of baseline survey effort, a species-specific mitigation strategy and a work schedule. Post development monitoring surveys may also be needed.
Some licensable activities may be seasonally restricted. Works that would disturb breeding or hibernating bats are not permitted and therefore works to maternity roosts must avoid the period May to September and works to hibernation roosts must avoid the period November to March (though there may be some variation for the latter depending upon the location of the site and climatic conditions).
The licence is the responsibility of the applicant (usually the developer or landowner) but a suitably qualified ecologist is required to oversee the licence application and implementation.
Other types of mitigation licences are available including Bat Mitigation Class Licences (BMCL) and Earned Recognition. These licences are held by registered consultants and have a quicker and more streamlined application process but can only be used for specific species and roost types at the discretion of the registered consultant.