| Tayside Biodiversity - Tayside
Biodiversity Action Plan - Farmland - Farm Buildings |
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OPPORTUNITIES AND CURRENT ACTION
Legal Status
Planning permission is required where farm steadings are to be converted for
non-agricultural use.
Local authorities also have a legal responsibility to establish the presence
of Barn owls, bats and other protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside
Act before building work commences and to require mitigation as part of the
restoration work.
Any bat roost, whether currently occupied or not, is protected by law. In addition
to it being an offence to deliberately kill, injure, sell or possess a bat, it
is an offence to disturb a bat whether in a roost or not, damage, destroy or
obstruct
access to a roost. Repairs, maintenance or alterations to buildings can adversely
affect bats and their roosts. Advice must be sought from SNH before any work
is carried out that could affect their roosts. |
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| MAIN THREATS TO KEY SPECIES |
| Bat spp. |
Loss of hibernation sites
and maternity roosting sites.
Insufficient insect food.
Inappropriate use of timber treatment chemicals. |
| UK Importance
of Tayside population: |
moderate |
| Barn owl |
Loss of nest sites.
Rodenticide poisoning.
Lack of surrounding rough ground or field margins to hunt
over. |
| UK Importance of Tayside population: |
moderate |
| Swallow |
Loss of nest
sites
Insufficient insect food
Lack of building materials (especially mud) from loss of
wetland habitats and farm ponds |
| UK Importance of Tayside population: |
high |
| Swift |
Loss of nest sites
Insufficient insect food |
| UK Importance of Tayside population: |
moderate |
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Pipistrelle
Britain’s smallest bat, the Pipistrelle, would fit
into a matchbox, yet each bat can eat up to
3,000 insects during one night’s feeding.
Bats need somewhere cool in the winter so that they can hibernate
safely. During the summer
females seek out somewhere warm to have their young.
These ‘maternity roosts’ tend to be used for
only a short time, but the loss of such a roost
can wipe out all the bats over a wide area, so it is vital
that these are protected. |
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Barn owls are listed on Schedule 1 of
the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1982 affording them special
protection from disturbance.
Planners can play a significant role in promoting and encouraging awareness of
the wildlife that utilises farm buildings. Architects, developers and planners
can all encourage specific building designs which retain space for wildlife:
for example Barn owl loft windows and landing ledges and Swift nest-bricks.
Some farm buildings may be listed and therefore any repairs or renovations have
to be agreed by Historic Scotland.
Agri-environment Schemes
Some farm buildings will be protected under the General Environmental Conditions
of agri-environment schemes if they have been identified as being of historic
interest.
Advisory Services
Conservation advisers from SAC and FWAG work with farmers identifying features
on their farms which are of value to wildlife. SNH and local Bat Groups are available
to advise on bat issues. |
OBJECTIVES
Objectives |
1 |
Ensure that farm buildings in
Tayside continue to provide nesting and roosting opportunities
for those species which depend upon them. |
2 |
Ensure that legal protection afforded to
wildlife utilising buildings is fully understood by the
three local authorities and that legal protection is enforced
where protected species are affected by buildings works. |
3 |
Encourage planning departments to have a
pro-active approach in promoting building design which
encourages wildlife. |
4 |
Encourage new farm buildings to be more
wildlife-friendly. |
5 |
Determine which farm buildings are utilised
by Barn owls. |
6 |
Investigate the possibility of setting up
a grant scheme for maintaining or enhancing farm buildings
used by Barn owls. |
7 |
Ensure landowners provide additional or
alternative nest/roost sites when building work takes place
(i.e.
when protected species are not actively utilising the building). |
8 |
Ensure that farm buildings are attractive
to wildlife by encouraging the retention or creation of
suitable foraging habitat close to the buildings. |
9 |
Ensure that the new Farm Business Development
Scheme (FBDS) is not detrimental to wildlife. |
10 |
Increase farmers’ and pest control
companies’ awareness of the potential threats to
owls and other birds of prey, posed by the use of rodenticides
around farm buildings. |
11 |
Provide winter feeding opportunities for
birds traditionally associated with farm steadings. |
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Stakeholders
| Landowners,
managers and advisors; statutory bodies and local authorities;
community councils; architects, developers and construction
companies; pest controllers, local bat groups, general
public. |
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