Baker Estates and the Horseshoe Bat corridor

Concerns are growing that a wildlife corridor due to be constructed around a housing estate in Dartington will be spoiled before it’s even begun.

Greater horseshoe bats use the hedges near Week as a critical foraging and commuting zone.

Baker Estates gained planing permission for its 81 home St Mary’s estate with a condition it create a 20 metre buffer zone around the site to let the bats and other wildlife thrive.
It’s designed to stop light spill from the new houses and provide a safe, dark space for the nocturnal creatures. But people who live in Week and at Broom Park – where houses now look out onto the construction site – have objected to the developer asking for a variation of those plans.

Baker Estates now wants to build six gates into the hedged corridor from the back gardens of six houses (not yet built). South Hams District Council is considering the application at the moment and has received over 50 objections from locals. Experts are also alarmed at the idea of building public access into the wildlife corridor, much of which has yet to be created. Devon county council’s senior ecologist Alison Slade has objected to the plan, saying: “The addition of gates would undermine the functionality and management of the corridor for greater horseshoe bats and other wildlife and has not been adequately justified.”
She added that Baker Estates has not demonstrated that there would be no adverse effects. Mark O’Connell, whose land at Week borders part of the estate, and has watched as soil has been piled high against his hedge, says that nobody knows why the gates are wanted. Recently the developers asked for one gate to be built from a property so the owner, a beekeeper, could access his hives.

Although South Hams district council refused, it was overturned on appeal in March. The planning inspector concluded the gate would not harm the bat highway. A spokesperson for Baker Estates told the Pulse: “Our current application seeks to replicate this approach by introducing a limited number of similarly designed pedestrian gates, allowing controlled access for residents of adjacent plots, without compromising the integrity of the corridor or its ecological function.”

But locals believe having several access points into the corridor is incompatible with best practice for bat conservation. Bats are a protected species and this location is within a designated “sustenance zone”. Ecological surveys carried out for Baker Estates show that there is a lot of bat activity and the current hedges are a vital route for them. Mark O’Connell is also concerned that as the homes are built, soil excavated during construction is being banked too high – higher, he claims, than the original plans allowed.
He has already had muddy run-off leach into his field and down into the lane in Week, and he is worried that future heavy rains will wash the soil into the Bidwell Brook. He is so concerned that he officially asked the council to take enforcement action. “I was really shocked to find these piles of soil had been pushed right to the edge of my hedgerow, and it’s like four to five metres above ground level.” He is worried that the roots of his ancient hedge will be permanently damaged by the weight of the soil.

Baker Estates told the Pulse: “We have recently welcomed officers from SHDC to our site for a meeting to review ongoing works. Following their visit, we are pleased to confirm that they were satisfied with the tree protection measures currently in place along the woodland edge.
“As is standard practice during construction, temporary soil stockpiles are required….one has been temporarily positioned to the west of the site… to support efficient transportation and effective dust suppression.”

Since that site visit, Mark says that he has now written to Baker Estates to tell them he plans to lay the hedges at the top of his field in the bat corridor this winter. “I’ve asked to meet them in writing previously with no response. Now I am claiming the hedgerow as mine to lay.” He says that despite their concerns, he and his neighbours are hoping that they can work with the developers. “My deepest wish would be to do something meaningful and collaborative together with Baker Estates, like creating a significant corridor for wildlife,” he said.

The St Mary’s development has been shortlisted for a national housebuilders’ award. Houses there are listed as costing from £355,000 up to a million pounds. They are, the website says, “nestled in a landscape that honours the area’s unique character and history.” Baker Estates told the Pulse: “We remain committed to meeting our environmental responsibilities at St Mary’s while creating a
well planed community that future residents can be proud of.”