Bats on the ‘commute’ near Sleaford get helping hand during vast water company project

The company is carrying out one of the largest infrastructure projects in the UK, aiming at securing water supplies for future generations.

The latest section of pipeline, being installed around Navenby and Ancaster, meant the removal of a small number of hedgerows which are used by bats for navigation. To combat this, Anglian Water has installed specialised camouflaged fences in their place to ensure the bats do not lose their way.

Andrew Weston, part of Anglian Water’s ecological team delivering the work, said: “We know that hedges are hugely important for bats. Hedgerows act as commuting corridors that link foraging areas. They rely on them to find their way when flying from their roosting sites to find food.”

Bats in the UK only eat insects. Even the smallest bat species, the common pipistrelle and soprano pipistrelle, can chomp their way through up to 3,000 insects such as midges in one evening.

Andrew continued: “Any hedgerows that need to be removed in areas where we know bats are active are being replaced by camouflage netting covered in artificial leaves, allowing the bats to continue to fly freely.

“Bats use echolocation to build a picture of their surrounding environment and use landmarks to navigate. Once we’ve completed our work, almost all of the hedgerow we’ve removed will be replaced with a high-quality hedgerow of a similar type.”

Ultimately the scheme will allow water to be moved from areas of surplus in north Lincolnshire, to areas of deficit in the south and east of the region and will be the biggest water infrastructure project in generations.