Brighouse-based eco roofers front bat campaign

A new campaign that aims tackle the ongoing issue of bats becoming stuck in Breathable Roofing Membranes (BRM’s) is being fronted by Brighouse-based Ploughcroft Eco-Roof.

The environmental campaign is hoping to save the decreasing number of bat species throughout the UK while raising awareness of the detrimental issue amongst the roofing and construction industry across Yorkshire.

In the past three years, more than 300 bats have died due to becoming entwined in BRM’s, which are currently installed in an hundreds of thousands of buildings and homes throughout the country.

However, as this estimation of dead bats has only been recorded by ecologists and roofers, who are aware of this issue, so it is safe to assume the issue is happening on a much grander scale.

To counter this, Ploughcroft Eco-roof founder, Chris Hopkins, is launching a campaign to help raise awareness of bats being trapped in BRM’s amongst property owners and the roofing and construction industry across the region.

Chris Hopkins, said: “The bats and breathable roofing membranes project is something that we feel extremely passionate about, and because we work in the roofing industry, we have the direct ability to actually change things for the better and make a difference. As a result, we will be investing our time and money into helping spread the word about this important problem and helping ensure the vital research into the issue continues.”

Stacey Waring, researcher at the University of Reading and the Bat Conservation Trust, commented: “Coming up with a solution to this problem is unfortunately not a simple process. It is not only the bats that suffer when they interact with BRM’s, as the membranes are not designed to withstand abrasive forces once fitted. Consequently, when bats roost on the products they can have reduced functionality. Therefore, products need to be able to withstand the conditions set out by the building regulations, whilst also being appropriate for the bats. We are now in our 6th year of research and coming up with a solution for this is now our main aim.

“I would like to see more roofing companies like Ploughcroft get involved with the research as it is vital that construction and conservation work together if we are going to come up with a solution that is good for both sides.”