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| Bat house costs developer £20,000 | Bat house costs developer £20,000 |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| A £20,000 heated house has been built for a legally-protected bat in East Sussex after a property developer was told to protect its habitat. | A £20,000 heated house has been built for a legally-protected bat in East Sussex after a property developer was told to protect its habitat. |
| Permission to demolish two houses and build nine flats in Heathfield was given on condition that bats living there were given an alternative home. | Permission to demolish two houses and build nine flats in Heathfield was given on condition that bats living there were given an alternative home. |
| A brown long-eared bat had been found in the roof of one of the houses. | A brown long-eared bat had been found in the roof of one of the houses. |
| Geoffrey Key, from Summerville Developments, said the decision was "costly but faintly amusing". | Geoffrey Key, from Summerville Developments, said the decision was "costly but faintly amusing". |
| Stephen Prosser, a consultant ecologist, was asked by the developers to carry out two surveys of the semi-detached properties in the High Street to be knocked down. | |
| Biological indicators | Biological indicators |
| He said he found one legally-protected brown long-eared bat and about 800 droppings from brown long-eared and pipistrelle bats in 2007. | |
| Mr Prosser said: "The fact that they are fully protected immediately means you know there is a route you're going to have to follow. | Mr Prosser said: "The fact that they are fully protected immediately means you know there is a route you're going to have to follow. |
| "All bats are extremely important. They are biological indicators - if you have plenty of species of bat around you know you have good biodiversity." | |
| British bats had "suffered very seriously" in recent years because of damage to their environment. | British bats had "suffered very seriously" in recent years because of damage to their environment. |
| Natural England provided the requirements for the new one-roomed structure to create a suitable roof space for breeding bats, which can live up to 30 years. | Natural England provided the requirements for the new one-roomed structure to create a suitable roof space for breeding bats, which can live up to 30 years. |
| Planning permission for the development of the site was granted by Wealden District Council last year, but work could not begin until the bat house was complete. | Planning permission for the development of the site was granted by Wealden District Council last year, but work could not begin until the bat house was complete. |
| Mr Key, of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, said: "I just feel that perhaps we have gone a step too far in the protection of one bat which as of today no-one has seen. | Mr Key, of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, said: "I just feel that perhaps we have gone a step too far in the protection of one bat which as of today no-one has seen. |
| "And we've spent £20,000 to £30,000 building that structure for this phantom bat that is heated on the say-so of an ecologist who found some droppings in the house. | "And we've spent £20,000 to £30,000 building that structure for this phantom bat that is heated on the say-so of an ecologist who found some droppings in the house. |
| "If it were a bear or a gorilla or some serious endangered species perhaps I would view this differently, but it is one bat that no-one's seen." | |
| Advertisement | Advertisement |
| Special £20,000 home built for bats |
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