Billingham Beck
Amco Rail were commissioned to carry out brickwork repairs to a railway structure that carries the LEN3 railway line over Billingham Beck, near Middlesbrough. Whitcher Wildlife Ltd were commissioned to carry out an ecology survey of the structure during early 2015.
During the ecology survey field signs of bats were identified within and around the structure with bats identified roosting in cracks in the brickwork of the structure. Further surveys of the structure were recommended to fully establish the value of the structure for bats.
Whitcher Wildlife Ltd carried out the surveys throughout 2015 and into 2016 to identify the extent the bats used the structure in order to gain sufficient information to apply for a Natural England licence to carry out the works. The surveys carried out on the site included internal inspections for bats, dusk emergence bat surveys and automated static bat detector surveys. These surveys identified bats roosting in the structure during the summer and winter months.
A Natural England EPS licence was applied for and received during 2016. Once the licence was received the bats were excluded from the structure using exclusion flaps. Once the bats had been excluded works were carried out to repair the structure. During these works Schwegler 2FE bat boxes were put up inside the structure to provide mitigation.
Monitoring surveys were carried out during the summer and winter seasons of 2016 and 2017. The surveys identified several species of bat utilising the structure during the peak summer season and for hibernation during the winter.
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