Water Vole, Reptile, Bat & GCN Surveys & Mitigation at Stonehouse, Gloucestershire

W      ild Service have been advising Stroud District Council on a        development on an area of land adjacent to the Stroudwater canal in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire. Wild Service Ecologists have undertaken a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal and protected species surveys (water voles, reptiles, great crested newts (GCN), bats). Reptile surveys confirmed presence of slow-worms and grass snakes, and Wild Service subsequently supervised reptile fence installation by JPR Environmental, and subsequently undertook reptile translocation. A water vole survey was undertaken to establish presence/absence of water voles, followed by a destructive search for water voles and their tunnels under Elizabeth’s Water Vole Class licence. In addition, a great crested newt and reptile mitigation strategy to inform the proposed works with consideration of relevant protected species legislation was prepared.