Permission granted for a new relief road and a large strategic allocation for 2500 homes in Wiltshire. This is following detailed work by Aspect Ecology to design safeguards to protect the rare bat species Bechstein’s.

Survey work carried out by Aspect Ecology included detailed radio tracking. This helped determine the movement patterns and flight lines of the local population of Bechstein’s bat. This is a rare species of bat which inhabits woodlands.

To ensure that bat movement between woodlands and through the landscape is unimpeded, a range of mitigation measures have been designed into the scheme. The mitigation includes seven bat underpasses as well as a number of hop-overs.

The long term conservation of the population has been secured by the inclusion of extensive green infrastructure on site. The provision of funding to manage adjacent woodlands will also benefit the species.