By Local Democracy Reporter Peter Davison
Plans to build nine houses on a half-hectare parcel of land at Dilton Marsh have been scuppered by rare bats.
In September 2025, Wiltshire Council refused planning permission to Hilperton-based Stone Developments Wiltshire Ltd.
Husband and wife Craig and Kerry Stone – whose previous developments include the conversion of the former Knees department store in Trowbridge into flats – wanted to build up to nine detached and semi-detached houses at Five Farthings, on the edge of Dilton Marsh.
They sought ‘permission in principle’ from Wiltshire Council, who refused the application, saying the area was important for Bechstein’s bats – one of the UK’s rarest breeds of bat. Just a handful of known breeding populations exist.
“It is considered insufficient information has been submitted to enable the appropriate assessment to be undertaken in respect of the Bath & Bradford-on-Avon Bat Special Area of Conservation, and as such (the application) cannot be concluded favourably,” ruled the council.
“In addition, no financial contributions toward council-led strategic habitat mitigation have been secured, and the council is unable to conclude that there would be no adverse effects on the integrity of the Bath & Bradford-on-Avon Bat SAC.”
Stone Developments appealed to the Planning Inspectorate, arguing that other developments had been permitted within the Special Area of Conservation.
Now the inspector has sided with the council.
“The SAC is designated for greater horseshoe, lesser horseshoe and Bechstein’s bats, and its conservation objectives require the maintenance and restoration of habitats essential to these species,” noted the planning inspector.
“Development within this zone, therefore, carries a heightened risk of undermining the SAC’s ecological integrity.”
“Regulation 63 of the Habitats Regulations imposes a strict legal test: permission may not be granted unless the competent authority can be certain that the proposal would not adversely affect the integrity of the SAC.
“This precautionary requirement is absolute. Where any uncertainty remains, permission must be refused.”
The inspector said Stone Developments had been unable to prove that the development would not have a negative effect on bats and bat habitats, and refused the appeal.
Pictured: a Bechstein’s bat and Five Farthings, on the edge of Dilton Marsh
