A planning application for the Western Link dual carriageway near Norwich is expected to be submitted this summer, despite researchers identifying the UK’s largest known colony of barbastelle bats in the threatened woodlands of Wensum valley.
The centre of this super-colony of one of Britain’s most endangered bats has been discovered in the path of the proposed road. Scientists have found 94 individual roost trees for barbastelles, two-thirds of which are within the 1.6-mile impact zone of the proposed 3.9-mile road.
“This is a really unique hotspot. It’s by far the biggest and most important area we know of for barbastelle in the UK,” said Dr Charlotte Packman, a conservation scientist for Norfolk Wildlife Trust who has spent over a decade studying the species. “Barbastelle are great indicator species of wider ecological health because they need an extensive area of good habitat. A dual carriageway right through that is just going to wreck it.”
The Wensum valley woodlands are a chalk river that is an internationally designated special area of conservation (SAC), and home to the rare barbastelle bat, which is a landscape bat that requires an unusually large foraging area to prosper. Barbastelle bats are particularly vulnerable to colliding with vehicles, according to European research. Additionally, Dr Packman points out that the impact of the road on the barbastelles stretches far beyond the road corridor.
Natural England has added the Wensum woodlands to its list of sites to be considered for designation as a site of special scientific interest. Other SSSIs have been designated for barbastelle colonies of 20 to 30 individuals. But if Natural England were to make the area an SSSI, it could find itself in conflict with the Department for Transport, which must decide whether to fund 85% of the £251m Western Link, a long-held priority for Conservative-controlled Norfolk County Council.
According to Dr Packman, the council’s surveys on barbastelle colonies were inadequate. She said, “It should’ve been screamingly obvious that there was likely to be a barbastelle colony there and it was missed in 2019 and 2020, and the council ploughed on regardless with their road proposals. It should’ve been evident that this wasn’t a viable road at this location.” The council is primarily focused on the “direct footprint of what’s going to be flattened by the road corridor,” she added.
This discovery has led to an outcry from local environmental groups fighting for the bats’ protection. The proposed road threatens to destroy not just the habitat for these endangered bats, but also affects the overall ecological health of Wensum valley woodlands. The UK is already facing a biodiversity crisis, and actions like these could have devastating long-term consequences for its wildlife.
The above is based on a Guardian Article by Patrick Barkham published on 14 April 2023