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St Michael’s Church, Kirk Michael: Report on a preliminary assessment for bats wrt 25/90740/GB Report commissioned by Mr S Hamer, Churchwarden, by email 15th September 2025

Report compiled 27/09/2025

Quality Assurance

This report has been prepared following the Bat Conservation Trust’s guidelines contained in Bat Surveys for Professional Ecologists: Good Practice Guidelines (3rd edn.), 2016. The author holds a Manx Bat License and previously held a UK Bat Roost Visitor’s License and has 40 years experience studying bats in both the Isle of Man and the United Kingdom.

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CONTENTS

Summary 2 Introduction 2 Methods 2 Results 2 Evaluation 4 Impact Assessment 4 Caveats 4 Mitigation 5

Summary The previously reported roost of brown long-eared bats was confirmed as still present along with access via the louvred vents at the top of the tower. Replacement of eight windows lower down the tower will not prevent the bats from leaving or entering the roost in the future

Introduction:

Planning permission has been granted to replace 8 windows in the tower of Kirk Michael parish church (25/90740/GB Replacement of eight high-level windows, in association with 25/00731/CON). One of the two west facing windows had caved in earlier this summer (Mr S Hamer, pers comm.) and the opening blocked off.

A condition was attached to the planning consent requiring that prior to the commencement of works, a preliminary assessment for roosting bats and summer emergence surveys shall be undertaken by a suitably qualified ecological consultancy and a report including a ecological mitigation plan be submitted to and approved in writing by the Department.

Methods:

Two members of the Manx Bat Group attended St Michael’s on the afternoon of 26th September 2025 to undertake a preliminary assessment for roosting bats.

Results:

The tower is at the west end of the church with three internal floors, the lowest taken up by a locked room of communication equipment. The floor above provides access to the ceiling space above the main body of the church and houses the clock mechanism. A further floor is at the level of the louvred windows. Each floor is accessed by a vertical ladder and open hatchways.

A board provides a walkway above the church ceiling along which are numerous bat droppings. At the far (east) end the north and south transepts jut out at right angles. Three brown long-eared bats were seen roosting against roof timbers in the north transept.

On the top floor the chicken wire attached to the inside of the louvres was seen to be very old and corroded with many large patches having fallen away. These provide ample access points for the bats.

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St Michael church tower from the south

Two of the eight windows to be replaced are situated either side of the clock

The louvred window on the floor above is similarly mirrored on the other three faces of the tower

View of the inside of one of the louvred windows

The slats appear to have been provided to hold the chicken wire netting in place. The slats are spaced to coincide with the spaces between the louvres but the window frame provides sufficient space for a bat to manoeuvre and gain access, or egress in the prats where the chicken wire has rotted away eg especially at the top of the picture.

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Externally, potential access points were noted at the eaves of the north transept on the west elevation. Roof joists were visible behind the soffit and rendering was missing at the top of the wall.

It is not known if these potential access points communicate with the interior of the roof but it would seem quite possible.

Evaluation

Replacement of the 8 windows as applied will not impede the bats’ ability to leave or enter the tower, which they have presumably been doing all summer.

Given that the bats were seen to be roosting at the far end of the church, away from the tower, presumably in the darkest spot, the works associated with replacing the windows should not disturb the bats.

Impact Assessment

Replacement of the windows will not impact bats in any way provided that the hatches in the tower floors remain open and that the chicken wire covering the louvres is not renewed in the future.

Caveats

Apart from maternity roosts, bats can be found individually or in low numbers in buildings for a variety of reasons, depending on season, from hibernating, night shelter, mating or occasional roosts. Sometimes such roosts are occupied opportunistically and cannot be predicted in advance.

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If a bat is found in the course of the development then work should cease and advice sought from DEFA Biodiversity officers. The Manx Bat Group reserves the right to submit any biological records collected during the preparation of this report to the appropriate biological records office.

Mitigation Since the works will not impact any bats no mitigation is required, as long as the netting on the inside of the louvres is not replaced. There is also no restriction on the timing of the works. This report is considered to have validity for the duration of the planning consent.

N J Pinder Recorder, Manx Bat Group 27th September 2025