A Derby-based property developer has been ordered to pay more than £14,400 in a prosecution brought by Natural England for breaching the conditions of a European Protected Species Bat Mitigation Licence. Patrick Weekes, 55, of Radbourne Construction Limited, Vernongate, Derby, pleaded guilty to four offences relating to a housing development in Harehill, near Ashbourne. He was fined £3,200 plus a victim’s surcharge of £1,280 and ordered to pay full prosecution costs of £9,955.17. A European Protected Species Bat Mitigation Licence was issued to the defendant in October 2020, but, the court was told, Natural England’s Wildlife Licensing Service had been made aware of potential breaches of the licence. Natural England decided to prosecute because the breaches were considered so significant as to have impacted the welfare and Favourable Conservation Status of the bat species involved. The breaches left brown long-eared bats with no suitable maternity roosting provision within the site. They also significantly reduced the suitability of roosting opportunities for common pipistrelle bats, as well as endangering the welfare of both species. Following a compliance check, Natural England’s Enforcement Team led a multi-agency site visit in February 2023 which evidenced that the defendant had breached the conditions of his licence on four counts:

• Failed to install Bitumen type 1F roofing felt with hessian matrix as agreed in the licence. This roofing felt is designed to be non-breathable which mitigates the risks to bats. Breathable roofing membranes, such as the one installed by the defendant, can cause bats to become entangled in the loose fibres and result in their injury and/or death. This is a significant risk to bat welfare.
• Failed to install the compensation and mitigation measures as agreed in the licence. Mitigation and compensation measures are included in licences to reduce the harm to bats, mitigate for any impacts, and where impacts cannot be mitigated then compensation is designed to maintain the Favourable Conservation Status as required in legislation. In this case, the agreed compensation in the form of various specific ridge crevices and access tiles to allow bats to roost within the roof were not installed, and the loft space set aside in one building to compensate for the loss of a Brown long-eared maternity roost was unsuitable and did not meet the requirements set out in the licence.
• Failed to complete post-development monitoring as agreed in the licence. Monitoring is vital to understand whether the impacts of bats have been successfully mitigated and compensated for, as well as determining if there are any issues with the compensation that need to be addressed to ensure they remain suitable for use by bats.
• Stripped the roof of a property containing a Common pipistrelle day roost without direct ecological supervision, as agreed in the licence. Ecologist supervision is required wherever there is a risk that bats can be encountered such as stripping a roof of a property with a confirmed bat roost present. This requirement is to ensure that works are done in a sympathetic way towards bats and if any bats are found during the process they can be safely transferred to a suitable bat box on site.

Sentencing, the court noted that Mr Weekes had acted in contravention to the professional advice provided by both their own ecological consultant and Natural England, and did not carry out work to mitigate the harmful impact on bats when so instructed by Natural England. Steph Bird-Halton, Natural England’s National Delivery Director, said: “Natural England does not take the decision to prosecute lightly. However, where individuals or companies place the welfare or Favourable Conservation Status of protected species at risk, we will not hesitate to take targeted and proportionate enforcement action. “I would like to thank the Bat Conservation Trust’s Wildlife Crime Project for the assistance they provided in this case.”

With the East Midlands Bricks Awards over for another year, the event can now be re-lived through a new video of the evening. Property and construction professionals from across the region gathered last month (Thursday 28 September) at the famous Trent Bridge Cricket Ground for Business Link Magazine’s annual event. Recognising and celebrating those behind the changing landscape of our region, rewarding the very best companies, teams and individuals, the occasion offered the perfect opportunity to showcase the outstanding work carried out across the East Midlands over the past year and network with many of the region’s industry leaders over canapés and complementary drinks sponsored by Nicholas Associates. Attendees also heard from Matt Wallace, Director of Estates and Building Services at Leicester City Council, who kicked off the event with the keynote speech. Watch the event and see the list of winners below.  

Most Active Estate Agent – sponsored by OMS

Winner

FHP

Runners up

BB&J Commercial

Mather Jamie

Commercial Development of the Year – sponsored by MKM

Winner

Henry Brothers Construction – SportPark Pavilion 4, Loughborough

Runners up

HBD – Power Park, Nottingham

Bolsterstone Group Plc, Chesterfield Borough Council – One Waterside Place, Chesterfield

Responsible Business of the Year – sponsored by Press for Attention PR

Winner

Cawarden

Runners up

G F Tomlinson

Aspbury Planning Limited

Residential Development of the Year – sponsored by Sterling Commercial Finance

Winner

Phoenix Brickwork UK Ltd – St Marks student accommodation, Lincoln

Runners up

Elms Developments – Elms Phase Two Ltd

St James Securities, Grainger – The Condor, Derby

Deal of the Year – sponsored by Mather Jamie

Winner

Rushton Hickman Limited – Branston Locks deal

Runners up

Bassi Group Nottingham Ltd – Job saving Pizza Hut takeover

Rigby & Co – Aida Factory deal

Developer of the Year – sponsored by Ward

Winner

Clowes Developments

Runners up

Chevin Homes

Brackley Property Developments

Architects of the Year – sponsored by Blueprint Interiors

Winner

Matthew Montague Architects

Runners up

IMA Architects

Influence Landscape Planning and Design

Excellence in Design – sponsored by Cawarden

Winner

Chevin Homes – Amber Farm

Runners up

Marchini Curran Associates – Phoenix cinema and art centre

Trident Construction Services – Lark Hill Retirement Village refurbishment

Sustainable Development of the Year – sponsored by Viridis Building Services Ltd

Winner

HBD – Power Park, Nottingham

Runners up

Henry Brothers Construction – SportPark Pavilion 4, Loughborough

Elms Developments – Elms Phase Two Ltd

Contractor of the Year – sponsored by RammSanderson

Winner

Bowmer + Kirkland

Runners up

Cawarden

EE Smith Contracts

Overall Winner

Chevin Homes

  See the event in the images below, taken by Richard Picksley. Thanks to all our sponsors for supporting the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2023. Business Link Magazine looks forward to returning next year for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2024!  

Long-term strategies for energy and industry are top of the wishlist for the region’s businesses ahead of the next General Election, according to a new study by East Midlands Chamber. Speeding up the rollout of full-fibre broadband and 5G connectivity, greater investment in road and rail infrastructure projects, and better incentives for upskilling and reskilling people followed closely behind as priorities. The chamber of commerce for Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire asked businesses to provide views on 20 policy asks in its latest Quarterly Economic Survey, with the development of a long-term energy strategy for the UK ranking as being the most important. Results were compiled to establish a list of top priorities for businesses, which has been published ahead of the upcoming Labour and Conservative party conferences in October. Chris Hobson, director of policy and insight at East Midlands Chamber, said: “With a General Election drawing closer on the horizon, it’s hugely important for the voice of businesses to be heard by the next Government in order to drive sustainable economic growth that delivers jobs and prosperity. “After many years of policy flip-flopping, economic shocks and the resulting uncertainty this has created for businesses, long-term planning appears to be front and centre of minds. “A long-term energy strategy is understandably top of the list given the huge rise in utilities costs for firms and households over the past two years combined with the opportunities business see to deliver future solutions in this space. “It’s closely followed by a comprehensive industrial strategy that finally addresses the UK’s perennial productivity problem – which is crucial to growing output, creating jobs and bringing down inflation. “In our regional economic blueprint, A Centre of Trading Excellence: A Business Manifesto for Growth in the East Midlands and Beyond, launched in Westminster last year, we highlighted the importance of infrastructure – that is, both digital and transport – as one of ‘four Is’ to spearheading growth. “Businesses are telling us they want to see real improvements across broadband and 5G connectivity, which are both crucial to 21st century working, while investing in our roads and rail is crucial to their future success – an important consideration at a time Government is deliberating over the future of HS2 and our region continues to be bottom of the pile for public transport investment. “We have also spoken in our manifesto about ‘getting the basics right’ and ‘growing our competitiveness the right way’, and both these themes are reflected in our survey as firms tell us they want the broken business rates to be made fit for purpose and better incentives to support the net zero agenda.” Policy priorities for East Midlands businesses The responses on policy priorities were gathered by East Midlands Chamber in August and September 2023 as part of its Quarterly Economic Survey, in which 296 businesses across Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire took part. They were presented with a list of 20 policy asks of Government and asked to score them based on importance to their organisation, providing additional comments as to why. The top 10 priority areas, in order, were: · The development of a long-term Energy Strategy for the UK · The development of a long-term Industrial Strategy for the UK · Speeding up the rollout of full-fibre broadband · Greater investment in local infrastructure projects (road, rail) · More flexible/generous incentives for investment in staff development/reskilling (including application of Apprenticeship Levy) · Greater investment in major infrastructure projects (road, rail) · Speeding up the rollout of 5G technology · Comprehensive reform of the business rates system · Greater investment in integrated public transport networks · More flexible/generous incentives for developments associated with the green agenda.