Workers on a gas pipeline have taken on a little extra building work to make sure local bats can find their way home after a night out.
While laying their natural gas pipeline between Milford Haven and Felindre, National Grid and their contractors NACAP Land and Marine JV had to temporarily uproot some hedges close to Slebech Park.
The hedges were vital to a nearby colony of horseshoe bats, which used them for sonic navigation, so while they were out of the ground, engineers replaced them with ‘hedge substitutes’, so as not to confuse the short-sighted nocturnal mammals.
“The hedges were needed by the bats to find their way back to their roosts after a night’s foraging,” explained John Williams, NACAP Land and Marine JV’s environmental manager. “So we installed fencing to replace the hedging until it could be reinstated.”
It is known as ‘bat mitigation’ and throughout the process experts have been on hand to ensure the structures will do the job of directing the animals back home.
The project was filmed by TV star Bill Bailey and his team for an episode of Channel 4’s nature show “Wild Thing – I love You” which is due to be broadcast at 4.55pm on Sunday (12 November).
With the work completed, the hedges are now being replanted and the scheme is being hailed as a great success by experts who worked on the project with the engineers.
“It has certainly been a successful project,” said environmental consultant Dr Warren Cresswell. “We have been monitoring the bats throughout the summer while the structures have been in place and they have done very well, increasing in weight and numbers.
“The structures are now being removed to allow the replanting of hedges and we will remain on hand to monitor the colony to ensure it continues to thrive.”
The fencing was established following consultation with the Countryside Council for Wales and was part of the agreement with the Welsh Assembly when they granted a licence for National Grid to install the pipeline through this particular site.
“Environmental considerations are always at the forefront of our minds on projects such as this,” said John. “We are committed to working with experts to ensure there is as little disruption to the local wildlife as possible while the work is being carried out.”
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Further information from Caroline Davidson, Project Communications tel: 07785 254696