After several weeks of discussions with our architects (Chris and Ally) we submitted plans to the Yorkshire Dales Planning Department. Planning guidance suggests it usually takes about 8 weeks for applications to be determined. Fingers crossed.
As part of the planning process it was necessary to contact batman - John Drewett, an ecology expert who undertook a preliminary bat survey. He suggested large bats were not likely to visit the hovel and there was a low possibility that smaller pipistrelle bats might roost in small spaces under tiles or gaps in walls.
Pipistrelles are the commonest of the 18 species of British bats, found throughout the UK. The common pipistrelle is a small bat, with brown fur and black wings and face. There are estimated to be about 3 million in Britain. They weigh around 5 grams (same as a 20p piece), are about 4 cm long and have a wingspan of 20cm. A single pipistrelle can eat 3,000 insects in one night (I wonder who and how this was counted).
Renovation activities at the hovel continue. I have almost finished removing the stone cladding at the corners of the house, to a height that I feel comfortable whilst wielding the diamond blade of an angle grinder spinning at 6,000 rpm.
When the weather is grim, I continue to strip out carpets and fittings from rooms and making regular trips (2/3 times a week) to the household waste/recycling centre in Leyburn.
