By Mike Smith – Deputy Director, Wildlife Licensing and Reform
This blog outlines how Natural England is modernising the bat licensing system. It explores how we are building evidence to strengthen the planning system to deliver better outcomes for bat conservation, people and sustainable growth. It sets out our long-term vision for 2036, the practical reforms already underway, and the new evidence led tools we are testing to strengthen decision making.
For many of us bats are glimpsed only in passing at dusk, yet behind these brief encounters lies an extraordinary species group. Bats account for roughly a quarter of all our mammal species in England and crucially where bats thrive nature thrives. Bats rely on a rich mix of habitats and their sensitivity to change makes them excellent indicators of whether our environment is healthy or not, offering early warning when the ecosystems we all rely on are under pressure.
However, bat populations have experienced long‑term pressures arising from habitat loss, fragmentation, changes in land management and the impacts of development. While conservation efforts have supported recovery for some species, sustained progress requires a more strategic and co‑ordinated approach. We want to see resilient bat populations thriving throughout England.
Natural England’s new Strategy signals a shift away from isolated interventions to nature recovery happening at a larger scale. It emphasises that we will achieve more by trusting others to deliver for nature and by placing greater focus on outcomes rather than processes. As part of our new strategy we are refocussing our approach to the planning and licensing systems to improve outcomes for nature and people and reduce administrative burdens. To support resilient bat populations we need to think at the scale of whole landscapes and focus our efforts to where they will have the greatest impact.
A vision for 2036
To help guide our work in the years ahead, we have worked with our partners to develop a vision for how bat populations can be supported by a planning and licensing system that also works more effectively for people:
By 2036 bat populations are thriving, supported by a society that recognises their value and embraces living alongside them as part of a healthy natural environment.
The planning and licensing systems work in a co-ordinated, efficient and outcome-focused way, delivering decisions that are predictable and proportionate. Strategic, landscape-scale planning provides long-term safeguards for bat populations.
A skilled workforce underpins the planning and licensing systems, and those who have demonstrated their competence operate with greater autonomy.
Monitoring and evaluation continually strengthen the evidence base, driving ongoing improvement and ensuring the systems remain effective.
Achieving this vision will take time and will require us to test innovative approaches, but we are already taking important steps to begin the journey.
Improving the planning and licensing systems
As part of our wider programme to modernise the licensing service and move towards this vision:
- We have started to expand and improve our trusted partner approach via our Bat Earned Recognition licensing scheme. A key part of this is streamlining the planning and licensing systems so that works approved through Bat Earned Recognition can begin sooner after planning permission is granted.
- We have introduced a new digital licence application process designed to cut administrative burden and enable faster decisions for customers.
- We will be exploring whether more flexible survey requirements can be used in a licensing system that still deliver the right outcomes for bats, ensuring protection while reducing unnecessary burden.
- We will place greater emphasis on the effectiveness of compensation measures, identifying which actions genuinely deliver benefits and will explore alternative approaches, including the effectiveness of off-site compensation.
- We will improve our customer‑facing guidance on gov.uk as part of our response to the Corry Review.
While some of these actions are already underway, we will launch others and explore new approaches in specific locations over the coming year. If these new measures are shown to be effective, they could not only lead to better outcomes for bat populations but also create greater flexibility and reduce delays, costs and uncertainty for customers navigating the planning and licensing process.
Strengthening the evidence base
Understanding how bats use the landscape is fundamental to effective conservation. Individual roosts are important but bats don’t stay in one place. They move around the landscape between their roosts, feeding areas and along the routes they use to travel. Understanding these patterns is essential for effective conservation because it’s this wider network of habitats that keep bat populations healthy and resilient.
Natural England is testing new mapping and modelling tools to show where bats feed and move across the landscape. These tools could help highlight the most important areas for bats, assess the combined impact of different pressures, target conservation work more effectively and support better strategic planning. By building consistent, high‑quality evidence into the system, decisions can be made earlier and with greater clarity and confidence.
All these reforms will be supported by strong monitoring and evaluation, ensuring we keep improving the evidence base and continue to refine the regulatory system over time.
Working in partnership
We will work closely with ecological professionals, planning authorities, developers, conservation groups and local communities to refine and implement reforms to the system in the coming years. The expertise and experience of our partners is vital to ensuring reforms are practical, effective and delivers better outcomes for bat conservation and for nature recovery.
You can read more about our new Strategy on gov.uk which sets out how we are reforming our regulatory functions to recover nature at scale, unlock sustainable growth and to deliver long-term public sector savings.
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