BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON
HISTORIC CHURCHES
21ST ANNUAL EDITION
15
THE MANAGEMENT
OF BATS IN CHURCHES
Andrew Harris
T
HE PRESENCE
of bats is one of
the most challenging issues that
custodians of church buildings can
face. The impact that even a small colony
of bats can have on church fabric, coupled
with the high level of protection enshrined
in environmental legislation, can leave
custodians feeling quite helpless when
considering ways to manage the situation.
For conservation architects and surveyors
a bat roost is one of those issues, like asbestos,
that can stop a building project dead in its
tracks. However, it need not be so. There
are a number of different methods for
dealing with bats in churches and a recent
report completed for the Department for
Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) by
the University of Bristol (see recommended
reading) has suggested new management
techniques. Ultimately, bats need not stop or
disadvantage a conservation or restoration
project: it is usually just a question of bringing
in the right expertise at the right time.
Bats have colonised buildings for as long as
buildings have existed. A 600-year-old church,
for example, may have been re-roofed many
times in its life without this invasive work or
(until relatively recently) the lack of legislative
protection, preventing bats from coexisting
with the building. Although bat populations
have been harmed by pesticides and urban
lighting, and the sites where they seek shelter
are now more important than ever, it seems
that the present legislation is focussed more on
the symptoms than on the original cause of bat
decline. Nevertheless, one of the many duties of
a conservation architect is to find a balance that
accommodates the needs of the building and
its users, whether human or protected species,
within the framework of the current legislation.
Bat colonisation in historic churches does
bring benefits. Bats help to control insect
populations and they prey on wood-boring
insects such as deathwatch beetle and common
furniture beetle in the flying, adult phase of
the insects’ life cycle. Bats also contribute
to habitat biodiversity and some churches
have developed educational and community
outreach activities such as nature walks or
evening bat watches to explore church and
churchyard habitats. However, many church
custodians would consider these benefits
to be outweighed by the harmful impact of
colonisation. Where bats can roost and fly
inside church buildings, their droppings and
urine can cause serious damage to furnishings
and fittings – a particularly severe problem for
those churches which house historic artefacts.
A phobia of bats can deter people from using
church buildings and, in the worst colonisation
cases, the presence of bats can restrict the use
of a church for worship or other purposes.
The University of Bristol’s report found that
approximately 60 per cent of pre-16th-century
churches contain bat roosts. Taking into
account more recent buildings, this means that
many churches will need to consider the issues
associated with roosting bats at some point,
although it should be stressed that large colonies
are only found in churches relatively rarely.
Bats are a European protected species and,
as such, are strictly protected under EU and
UK law due to concerns over their declining
populations. In England and Wales, the relevant
legislation is the Wildlife and Countryside Act
1981, the Countryside and Rights of Way Act
2000, the Natural Environment and Rural
Communities Act 2006, and the Conservation
of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010. In
summary, it is a criminal offence to damage,
disturb or destroy any bat roost, obstruct
access to a bat roost, or deliberately capture,
kill or injure a bat. This legislation also obliges
competent authorities, including diocesan
advisory committees and consistory courts,
to take bats adequately into account when
works such as building restoration have the
potential to damage roosts or disturb bats.
Where conflict can arise between human
activity and bats, Defra can authorise statutory
nature conservation organisations to grant
licenses for management and mitigation
activities to resolve the conflict. This licensing
system is complex and time-consuming, but
nevertheless offers hope to building custodians
who are looking for a responsible solution that
Brown long-eared bats roosting in a roof void: this species typically roosts in small colonies in older buildings, barns and tree holes (Photo: Hugh Clark)
