THE foundations of what will become new bat houses have been laid at Bradley Lane as the demolition of the Newton Abbot site continues.

The mostly derelict site is home to a sizeable population of bats, including the lesser horseshoe bat.

The bats time in hibernation has surely been interrupted as Teignbridge District Council (TDC) demolishes the site.

Bats typically enter hibernation around early October; emerging anytime from March to late April and into May, according to the RSPCA.

As such, some residents have raised concerns about the welfare of the bats.

24/01995/FUL for the development of bat houses to the west of Bradley Lane was approved by TDC on February 4.

The application came before Newton Abbot Town Council’s planning committee on January 7.

Members recommended that the application be refused on the grounds that it was ‘premature and based on the proposed future redevelopment of the Bradley Lane area’ and that the design of the bat house was ‘out of keeping with the area’.

AECOM, the company that submitted 24/01995/FUL, was instructed by TDC to carry out bat emergence surveys on six buildings at Bradley Lane.

Furthermore, a desk study, a study that involves collecting all available existing information about a given site, recorded at least 11 different species of bat nesting within two kilometres of Bradley Lane.