02 September 2021
Mr M Keir
Legal Services
County Hall
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Spetchley Road
Worcester
WR5 2NP
Dear Mr Keir
Access to information request – Request No RFI 5712
Thank you for your request for information, which we received on 31 August 2021. Your request
has been carefully considered under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIRs).
You asked for:
Please send me a copy of the current class bat licence HS2 are operating under on Phase 1.
HS2 are currently clearing vegetation on Bowood La (nearest) post code HP22 6QA.
Please show me the appropriate area registered under above licence.
What bat species have HS2 surveys found in this area?
In light of evidence of greater numbers than anticipated of Barbastelle in the vicinity, please
tell me how the overall cumulative effects have been determined.
Please tell me how you expect favourable conservation status to be maintained.
Please show me what mitigation is in place for roosts that might be found here.
Given the deleting of a major feeding corridor at nearby Leather La, as well as Bowood
Lane, please tell me how you expect fragmentation in the area to be mitigated.
Please find attached Bats in Trees CL40 and Bats in Building CL39 licences.
No site has been registered with Natural England under either licence for Bowood Lane. As a
result, we cannot comment on the survey details or potential mitigation required as this information
has not been shared with Natural England. Therefore, EIR Regulation 12(4)(a) – information not
held, applies. I would advise contacting HS2 directly.
Please note that the information we have supplied to you is subject to copyright protection under
the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. You may re-use this information (not including logos)
free of charge in any format or medium, for the purposes of research for non-commercial purposes,
private study criticism, review and news reporting. You must re-use it accurately and not in a
misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as Natural England copyright and you
must give the title of the source document/publication. However, if you wish to re-use all or part of
this information for commercial purposes, including publishing and the information is not covered
by the
Open Government Licence you will need to apply for a licence. Applications can be sent to
Enquiry Service, Natural England, Worcester County Hall, Spetchley Road, WORCESTER, WR5
2NP.
This information may also contain third party copyrighted material and you will need to obtain
permission from the copyright holders concerned before you re-use it.
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. As you may be aware, under the
legislation should you have any concerns with the service you have received in relation to your
requests and wish to make complaint or request a review of our decision, please contact me and
I’ll arrange for a colleague to conduct an internal review. Under Regulation 11(2) this needs to be
done no later than 40 working days after the date of this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of that complaint or the internal review, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Commissioner cannot make
a decision unless you have exhausted the internal review procedure provided by Natural England.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/ or call on
0303 123 1113 (local rate),
www.ico.org.uk
Yours sincerely
Darren Green
Senior Adviser – Access to Information
0208 026 0936
xxxxxx.xxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Enc
