Home Farm, Myton on Swale
The restoration of this historic farm building took place between March and November 2010, and was supported by Natural England through the farm Higher Level Stewardship scheme. Restoration was just one part of the environmental and public access measures that have been undertaken on the farm.
During 2009 bat activity surveys, the following roosts were observed:
- Two separate Natterer’s maternity roosts containing approximately 80 bats
- A single Natterer’s autumn transitional roost.
- Two separate Common Pipistrelle summer roosts.
- Four individual Soprano Pipistrelle summer roosts.
- Four Brown Long-eared summer roosts containing nine bats.
The site therefore supports significant numbers and four different species of bat, and is of regional importance in Yorkshire. Building work was monitored to ensure that the favourable status of local bat populations was maintained, and that new roosting habitats were designed into the restoration programme. Working closely with owner Nick Ramsden, Native Architects, Natural England and the various building contractors on site, Wold Ecology programmed building works to take place outside the bat breeding season of May to August, conducted hand searches and supervised the soft stripping of walls and roofs.
New bat roosts included gaps behind soffits and above the wall plate, and existing roosts were re-instated. Walls were carefully pointed to include gaps and retain known access points, and original roof structures replicated to incorporate gaps and crevices.
Consequently, post-development surveys during 2011 recorded similar numbers and species of bats on site, including the important Natterer’s maternity roosts.