Cornwall's bats have been settling into a new house built especially for them next to the A30. Several species have been found making themselves at home in the bespoke bat house.
The house was built close to the new dual carriageway from Chiverton to Carland Cross in early 2022. Constructed using locally sourced Cornish stone and slate, it has specially designed crevices and open flying spaces to accommodate the needs of varying bat species.
Two years on, teams from Cornwall Environmental Consultants Ltd (CEC) have now discovered lesser horseshoe bats - one of the smallest species of bats in Britain - roosting in their new home. They say there is also recorded activity of brown long-eared and common pipistrelle and myotis bat species.
The house was built after survey work identified potential disruption to bat commuting routes and habitats across and alongside the A30. A number of bat and bird boxes were also built along the 8.7 mile section of road.
It also has 33 multi-species crossing points to assist the habitats and journeys of animals such as bats, otters, badgers and reptiles. The bat barn and other ecology measures along the route will continue to be monitored until 2032.
Steve Marshall, principal bat ecologist at CEC, said: “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, and we know there are fairly healthy populations of this species in this part of Cornwall.
“We’ve noticed during our monitoring visits that existing bat roosts and activity along the corridor generally increased during 2024 when compared to 2023 and 2022, which reflects that the scheme corridor is starting to revegetate now the main dual carriageway is operational.”
Jordan Fortune, National Highways project manager for the £330 million A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross scheme, said: “We’re proud of the work we’ve undertaken to protect and enhance the ecology and environment in the area, including the bat mitigation, wildlife-proof fencing, Cornish hedging and heathland relocating, and we’re currently forecasting a net gain of over 20 per cent in biodiversity.
“The scheme has been carried out in the most sympathetic way for wildlife and the environment, National Highways has also funded a number of environmental projects around the location of the scheme and this is something we’re also proud to be involved with and which will leave a real legacy for Cornwall.”
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