Bats Inhabit Custom-Built Barn Following Road Improvement Project

Evidence of bats roosting has been observed in a specially constructed barn adjacent to a significant road improvement project. This custom-designed bat habitat was erected in 2022 close to a recently opened section of dual-carriageway on the A30 in Cornwall. Its construction formed part of the environmental mitigation strategies implemented for National Highways’ A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross initiative. Environmental specialists expressed their “delight” that four distinct bat species have already established residence there. Steve Marshall, the principal bat ecologist at Cornwall Environmental Consultants Ltd, stated: “We were delighted to see evidence of bats moving into the bat house last year, and even more pleased this year to record four species of bats, including Lesser Horseshoes, roosting for the first time.“Bats can be difficult to mitigate for and typically take more time to colonise new roost sites, but they obviously feel comfortable using this one.” Additionally, activity has been documented from brown, long-eared, common pipistrelle, and myotis bat species. Emma Stuart, an environmental advisor affiliated with the construction company Costain, commented that the observed activity demonstrates the extent to which the barn “will help the local bat population.” She added, “We didn’t think it would be this soon because there is still activity going on in the area with construction works.” Neil Winter, National Highways’ senior project manager, conveyed his “pride” regarding the efforts undertaken to safeguard and improve the ecology and environment surrounding the 8.7 mile (14km) new road segment. He elaborated, “This includes the bat mitigation, wildlife-proof fencing, Cornish hedging and heathland relocating, and we’re currently forecasting a net gain of over 20% in biodiversity.” While the new dual-carriageway became operational in June, the broader project is still in progress with supplementary and completion tasks. In accordance with the project’s licence stipulations, the monitoring of all ecological measures, encompassing the bat barn, is slated to persist until 2032.