Legal Eagle

Prosecutions
Bat conviction in
Worcestershire
Prosecutions
Rosie Corner
An early guilty plea leads to a £1,000 reduction in fines, following the illegal
destruction of a bat roost.
Daniel Hargreaves
On 29 July 2015, Stephen Donald
Taylor, 55, of Berrow Green Road,
Martley, pleaded guilty at Redditch
Magistrates’ Court to unlawfully
destroying the resting place of a
European Protected Species,
contrary to Regulation 41 of The
Conservation of Habitats and
Species Regulations 2010. He was
fined £2,300 and ordered to pay
costs of £270. In imposing
sentence, the magistrates made
the point that the fine was initially
set at £3,500 but had been reduced
in order to take account of Taylor’s
early guilty plea.
In 2014, Taylor bought a property
to be his home, but he intended to
improve it before moving in.
To support his planning application,
a bat survey was undertaken by a
consultant ecologist who identified
roosts of solitary common and
soprano pipistrelles. The report
stated there was a need to obtain
a licence from Natural England (NE)
before undertaking work that would
impact on the roosts.
Despite this advice, in autumn
2014 Taylor stripped the roof of his
house and carried out work which
destroyed the roosts. In his defence,
it was said that Taylor was confused
about the licensing process and had
unsuccessfully sought advice from
a number of sources about how to
lawfully strip the roof. The court
was told that since being reported
for the offence, Taylor had provided
mitigation far beyond what might
have been required as a condition
of any licence. There was general
acceptance that the destroyed
roosts had not been used as a
maternity or a hibernation roost
and that the offence caused
minimal ecological impact.
In sentencing, the magistrates
said they accepted that Taylor
may have been confused about
the licensing requirements, but
nevertheless the onus was on
him to do things properly.
A common pipistrelle roost was destroyed when one of the buildings was demolished
London bat case
Fines and costs for bat roost removal cost developers more than £5,000.
On 17 September 2015, City and
Westminster Developments of
Aston Mews, 103 Kilburn Lane,
London W10 4AN, pleaded guilty
at Hendon Magistrates’ Court to
destroying bat roosts at Great
North Way, Barnet, contrary to
Regulation 41 of The Conservation
of Habitats and Species
Regulations 2010. The company
was fined £4,500 and ordered
to pay £85 costs plus a
victim surcharge of £450.
In order to develop an area
of land, City and Westminster
Developments wanted to demolish
four buildings. Bat surveys were
undertaken, with roosts identified
in three of the buildings. Despite
being aware of the roosts, on
19 August 2014, demolition of
one building took place, destroying
a common pipistrelle roost.
This case is of significance as it is
the first prosecution of this nature
within the Metropolitan Police area.
The Bat Conservation Trust is
grateful to DC Sarah Bailey of the
force’s Wildlife Crime Unit and to
the CPS for its work on this case.
More bat roosts destroyed
Failing to wait for a licence to be processed before working on a property with
long-eared and pipistrelle bats led to a court appearance, and a £1,500 fine.
On 18 September 2015,
Timothy Bull, of Mosley Mews,
Rolleston-on-Dove, Staffordshire,
pleaded guilty at Burton upon Trent
Magistrates’ Court to destroying
common pipistrelle and brown
long-eared bat roosts at Beech
Lane, Stretton, Burton upon Trent,
contrary to The Conservation of
Habitats and Species Regulations
2010. He was fined £1,500 and
ordered to pay costs of £85 plus a
victim surcharge of £120.
Bull initially engaged with his
ecological consultant about a
licence application being submitted
to Natural England. However, Bull
destroyed the roosts before any
licence was issued.
The Bat Conservation Trust thanks
investigating officer DC Steven
Thornhill of Staffordshire Police
and the CPS specialist wildlife
crime prosecutor Stephen Davies
for their work on this case.
Paul Sutherland
Soprano pipistrelles were known to be roosting in the building
In 2014, Bull applied for planning
permission to develop a property.
A bat survey was undertaken and
revealed the presence of roosts
used by three common pipistrelles
and one brown long-eared bat.
All UK bat species, including
long-eared bats, are legally
protected by domestic and
international legislation
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