Have your say on new measures to help bats
People are invited to have their say on new measures aimed at giving greater protections to one of the rarest and most threatened species living in Teignbridge.
Teignbridge is encouraging people to comment on a document that looks at preserving bat flyways where different developments are taking place and make sure that they don’t affect bats moving around.
Teignbridge enjoys an exceptional status as host to some very rare bat species, including Greater Horseshoe Bats, one of the rarest and most threatened animals in Europe.
Parts of the district are designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) in recognition of their importance for this species. Teignbridge is home to the largest colony of Greater Horseshoe Bats in the UK and possibly Europe. Over 1,000 of Britain’s 3,000 Greater Horseshoe Bats live at Buckfastleigh, with more living around Chudleigh, Newton Abbot, Bovey Tracey and elsewhere in the District.
The document, called the Draft South Hams Special Area of Conservation Mitigation Strategy for the Heart of Teignbridge and Bovey Tracey, is available for public comment for six weeks from Monday 27th February until Monday 12pm on 10th April.
People can read and comment online at www.teignbridge.gov.uk/biodiversity, and email comments to forwardplanning@teignbridge.gov.uk
Paper copies of the plan are also available to view during normal opening hours at Teignbridge District Council at Forde House, Newton Abbot and Newton Abbot Library, Passmore Edwards Centre, Market Street, Newton Abbot.
People can also write to SAC Mitigation Strategy Consultation, Spatial Planning and Delivery, Teignbridge District Council, Forde House, Newton Abbot, phone 01626 215735.
Cllr Humphrey Clemens, Teignbridge District Council's Executive Spokesperson for Planning and Housing, said:
“Our Council Strategy sets out to protect our most important landscapes and support proposals that will enhance them.
“Our district includes popular coastal areas, internationally important and protected wildlife sites, plus a landscape of varied topography which pose challenges to achieving these aims.
“Despite these challenges, Teignbridge is successfully delivering the homes, jobs and infrastructure to fulfil the needs of our communities, at the same time protecting our wildlife. This new strategy – a first for the area - builds on existing policies and I would encourage anyone with an interest in our wildlife, habitats and landscapes to have their say.”
Why do bats love Teignbridge?
Bats have given Teignbridge the thumbs-up as a great place to live! Fourteen of Britain’s seventeen bat species live here – not many other places can boast this many bats. Among the 14 are several of the country’s rarest bat species, including Greater Horseshoe Bats (GHB).
Bats love Teignbridge because:
* Local dairy farms produce cow dung which provides food for insects, which in turn are food for bats. GHBs feed on cockchafers and other beetles which thrive in cow dung
* Our landscape of woods, streams, and farms provide desirable habitats for bats
* Our plentiful thick, high hedges are good for bat navigation and feeding routes
* Our caves provide safe roosts where GHBs can hibernate and give birth to their babies.
What measures have been put in place in Teignbridge to help bats?
Teignbridge encourages developers to include bat-friendly mitigation measures when they build new houses, factories or roads. Examples of measures used to protect bats include:
* Tunnels below the B3193, where 3 out of 4 of the rarest bat species in the country have been recorded
* Location of street lighting to encourage bats to use crossings
* Drainage system installed on the B3193 which acts as a magnet for Pipistrelle bats to feed
* Screens to cut down the glare for bats from car headlights and hedges to aid their navigation
* At Chudleigh, fields have been given to Devon Wildlife Trust by the developer for a bat nature reserve
* Extra hedges planted to give bats alternative flyways on windy days
* New housing at Chudleigh has special coating on windows to reduce light spill, and bat-friendly street lighting
Planning Committee voted to approve consultation the Draft South Hams Special Area of Conservation Mitigation Strategy for the Heart of Teignbridge and Bovey Tracey on 14 February 2017.
Read the full report to Planning Committee in November 2016 here:
https://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/article/22518/14-February-2017
The Strategy has been prepared by Greenbridge Ltd on behalf of Teignbridge District Council. It has been informed by information and evidence from available bat surveys, data from the Devon Biodiversity Records Centre, relevant Habitat Regulation Assessment Reports relating to large site developments and the Devon Minerals Plan, and an extensive local knowledge of the habitat requirements and the behavioural characteristics of the greater horseshoe bat matched to landscape features capable of supporting them.
