A COLONY of endangered bats are being treated to a central heating system at a housing development in Notton near Lacock.

Six homes are being built in an area of woodland close to Notton School, but a group of rare Greater Horseshoe and Lesser Horseshoe bats roosting in derelict buildings are holding up the development.

Developers Cotswold Homes had to call in a bat expert, who advised them to install a 120-watt central heating system in one of several derelict buildings, so the bats will move out of the others and building work can continue.

The aim is to ensure the bats will still have a place to stay when the development is completed around Christmas time.

The site, Woodside development, which is being sold through Atwell Martin estate agents, is made up of six three-bedroom houses set in an area of private woodland.

Dr Roger Ransome, who is bat consultant to Cotswold Homes, said: "We discovered a number of Greater Horseshoe and Lesser Horseshoe Bats on the site.

"They were visiting the old buildings at night and using them for roosting. Both of these are endangered species.

"To comply with the regulations specified in the Defra bat licence, we have to make sure they are provided with suitable night-roosting habitat on the site.

"At the moment they are using about six derelict buildings at the development and what we are doing is trying to get them to move to one building at the back of the site so that the rest can be demolished, but leave the bats with one improved roosting habitat.

"We are doing this by putting a 120-watt heating system permanently in this building, so that they move there of their own accord.

"Anyone moving into the development will have an area of retained and improved woodland on the site for both bat foraging and public amenity use.

"They will also be able to do a spot of bat-watching at night."

There are only 6,000 Greater Horseshoe bats left in the UK and 14,000 Lesser Horseshoe bats.

Geoff Lewis, Atwell Martin's Chippenham branch manager, said: "In these days of high density housing this site will give buyers a rare opportunity to live in a woodland area as close to nature as possible.

"It's not often that homebuyers get a chance to be able to see endangered species in the wild like this."

All of the houses are being built with Cotswold stone to ensure they fit in with the area, and residents will all jointly own the woodland, which is also being preserved as a wildlife area.

The site should be completed by the end of this year, with one of the six houses already reserved.