We anticipated the possibility of unforeseen issues cropping up when it came to starting the building works, but finding a surprise visitor hanging around wasn’t one of them! The team were thrilled to learn that a Common Pipistrelle bat had taken up residence at the Tower during our ecological survey of the building. With his taste for the Gothic, we feel that William Beckford would have approved!
Working with our ecology consultants, Biodiversity by Design, B&NES and Natural England, our priority now is to encourage the bat to relocate to a safe nearby location so that we can begin works on the Tower.
Bats aren’t the only unusual resident we’ve been on the lookout for. Beckford’s Tower is set in a rich ecological landscape, with plenty of wildlife to observe by day and by night. Our team have invested a great deal of time and effort into understanding the flora and fauna in and around the tower, to ensure that this is properly understood and protected.
In other news, the project has secured planning permission and listed building consent, and we are gearing up to start work on site in April 2023.
If you would like to get involved with the Tower Project, please email Michelle Williams (Project Manager): mwilliams@bptrust.org.uk.