Building or Converting for a Garden Gym in Scotland: What NatureScot Says About Badgers, the 30 Metre Guide and Bats in Buildings

Wildlife law is easy to overlook when planning a garden room or garage conversion, yet in Scotland it can affect when and how groundworks happen. This guide summarises NatureScot’s published advice on badgers and on bats in homes. It applies to Scotland only; this site’s guide to bats and nesting birds in England covers the English position under Natural England. It is general information, not legal or ecological advice, and it does not replace a survey by a suitably experienced person.

What protects badgers in Scotland

NatureScot’s standing advice says badgers and their setts are protected by the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. It lists offences relevant to development works: wilfully injuring or killing a badger, disturbing a badger while it is in a sett, and intentionally or recklessly damaging or destroying any part of a sett or obstructing access to it. The Act defines a badger sett as any structure or place which displays signs indicating current use by a badger.

The advice says badgers are found throughout most of mainland Scotland in both urban and rural areas. Favoured sites for setts are dry, sandy soil that is easy to dig, often in woodland, hedgerows or dense scrub on steep banks close to fields, although setts can also be found in open fields, on railway embankments and in old quarries. A garden backing onto scrub or woodland may therefore be relevant.

The 30 metre guide

As a guide, NatureScot says any work within 30 metres of an entrance to a badger sett, or 100 metres for pile driving and blasting, could result in disturbance of a badger in the sett or damage or block the tunnels that radiate from the entrance. Its licensing page uses the same 30 metre figure and says the distance may be extended where more disruptive works such as blasting or pile-driving are planned.

Its mitigation advice includes marking exclusion zones around setts, with boundaries a minimum of 30 metres from sett entrances or 100 metres for pile driving or blasting, and it says that where zones of that size are not possible the works will require a licence before they can proceed. Other measures in the standing advice include avoiding noisy plant and machinery within the vicinity of a sett in the two hours before sunset, capping exposed pipe systems when contractors are off site, covering trenches or providing exit ramps so badgers cannot become trapped, directing security lighting away from setts and storing chemicals safely.

Surveys

NatureScot says a badger survey should be carried out where there is potentially suitable habitat within or close to a development site, and that surveys should be done by people with the appropriate knowledge and practical experience. A survey can be done at any time of year, but the optimum time is February to April. It involves a systematic search for signs such as footprints, hair, snuffle holes, latrines and sett entrances. Pre-application surveys normally remain valid for two years and should be repeated if the application is delayed beyond that, unless there is clearly no substantive change.

Licences: what they can and cannot do, and when

• NatureScot issues licences under the 1992 Act for the purpose of development, and they can only permit someone to “interfere” with a sett, meaning disturbing a badger in a sett or damaging or blocking tunnels.
• A licence cannot permit the removal, translocation or killing of badgers for the purpose of development.
• Licences are not generally issued during the breeding season, 1 December to 30 June, and cannot be granted retrospectively, so activities that necessarily involve disturbance should be scheduled outside that period.
• A licence application for a development project should not be made until the necessary planning permissions and consents are in place, and NatureScot says a person must usually have full planning permission before a licence can be granted.

NatureScot also says it pays to address protected species at the earliest opportunity, since doing so as part of the planning application process almost always avoids delays later.

Bats in buildings and roof works

For garage conversions and works to existing roofs, NatureScot’s advice for homeowners says bats are often found in homes, usually during the summer. They are usually seasonal visitors, present for only four or five months a year, forming maternity colonies in May and June and leaving in August and early September once the young can fly. It points anyone carrying out works to a property, including minor or major repairs, that may affect bats to its bats and development licensing page and its licensing helpline on 01463 725364. NatureScot also runs a helpline for people who think they have bats causing a public health or safety problem.

How this fits with planning and building warrants

The wider process for a garden gym or garage conversion in Scotland, including building warrants and planning, is covered in this site’s guide to converting a garage or building a garden gym in Scotland. NatureScot’s standing advice notes that Scottish planning policy requires potential impacts on legally protected species to be fully considered before a planning application is decided.

Frequently asked questions

Can a licence be applied for after work has started?

No. NatureScot says badger licences cannot be granted retrospectively.

Does the 30 metre distance apply to a small garden building?

NatureScot gives 30 metres as a general guide for development that could affect setts. It says work within that distance of a sett entrance could disturb a badger or damage tunnels.

The bottom line

In Scotland, NatureScot treats work within about 30 metres of a badger sett entrance as capable of causing disturbance, expects surveys where habitat is suitable and issues development licences only within a set season and after planning consent, with no retrospective licences. Bats are seasonal residents of many homes, and works that may affect them also point to NatureScot’s licensing team. A garden gym or garage conversion near scrub or woodland should therefore be checked before work begins.

Sources

• NatureScot, “Standing advice for planning consultations – Badgers” (updated August 2024)
• NatureScot, “Badgers: licences for development”
• NatureScot, “Bats: advice for homeowners”