The property’s tenant was taken to hospital due to receiving bite wounds after over 150 bats went to his living quarters and bedroom from the house’s roof structure in which they had been stranded. 

After ecology experts assessed the property in Lochmaben, Dumfriesshire, they found that the animals are Soprano Pipistrelle bats. Under European law, these bats are protected. 

The evidence presented by prosecutors from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) revealed that roughly 150 of the bats in the colony had died due to dehydration and starvation. 

This happened after work to install solar panels and external cladding obstructed the entrance to the bat roost in the building’s roof. 

On July 27th at Dumfries Sheriff Court, City Building (Glasgow), were fined £17,000 after pleading guilty to breaching animal conservation laws between the period of June and July 2023. 

Iain Batho, who leads on wildlife crime for COPFS, said: “It is the responsibility of those involved in construction work to ensure that due diligence is carried out to prevent the unlawful disturbance of protected wildlife or their habitats. 

“City Building (Glasgow) failed in their duty to carry out that necessary due diligence which negatively impacted on a sizeable maternity roost and resulted in the death of around 150 bats.”

Batho added: “This impaired the ability of these bats to survive and rear their young during the maternity season and will impact significantly on the Soprano Pipistrelle bat population in that area.  

“COPFS takes wildlife crime seriously and action will be taken against individuals or companies where there is sufficient evidence of a crime and where it is in the public interest to do so.” 

City Building (Glasgow) had been contracted by the property’s landlord, Wheatley Homes South, to fit external cladding to the house and install solar panels. 

In the context of the agreement for the work to be delivered, City Building (Glasgow) were responsible for assessing each property to identify a presence of bats. But this was not carried out in relation to the property in question. 

On 23 June 2023, solar panels were installed and external wall insulation was carried out between 28 June and 5 July. 

The work was mostly outsourced by City Building (Glasgow) to sub-contractors, with the tenant staying in the address throughout. 

The tenant and his family on 14 July complained to Wheatley Housing South that the property had a large amount of dead and dying bats. 

The tenant was taken to hospital and was treated for bat bites. Subsequently, he was rehoused.  

According to an ecologist’s estimation, the roost had contained roughly 150 adult bats and a similar amount of pups, amounting to a total of 300 of the animals. 

Roughly 150 were dead in and around the locus. The remainder were dying or trying to depart from the property, with most of these being pups. 

The bats appeared to be coming from a hole around the boiler, within a bedroom where pipework went up to the attic area.  

The injured bats were removed to receive treatment. 

A spokesperson for City Building said: “We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously and recognise that, in this case, we fell short of the standards expected of us.

“Since this incident, we have introduced new working practices and strengthened our environmental training programme to ensure it does not happen again.”