RICHARD EDEN on Sarah Beeny's plans to demolish farmhouse

RICHARD EDEN: Property Ladder star Sarah Beeny’s plans to demolish a farmhouse at her new ‘mini Downton Abbey’ estate are scuppered by bats

She managed to overcome suspicious locals, sneering putdowns and four children marooned on a building site, but Sarah Beeny’s plans to demolish a farmhouse at her new ‘mini Downton Abbey’ estate have, I learn, been scuppered by bats.

The Property Ladder star, 51, had been given the go-ahead to bulldoze the 1970s four-bedroom house and build a new, seven-bedroom mansion and lake at the former dairy farm in Somerset.

But a recent ecological survey found a ‘substantial’ roost for rare serotine bats in the roof of the former farmhouse.

A total of 200 bat droppings confirmed by DNA analysis were also found in the loft along with potential roosting areas including loose tiles and rotten soffit boxes.

Bats are a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and it is an offence to intentionally or recklessly disturb them.

The Beeny family sat on some hay with house in background

But a recent ecological survey found a ‘substantial’ roost for rare serotine bats in the roof of the former farmhouse (pictured) 

Beeny and her husband, the artist Graham Swift, would have needed a special licence from Natural England to demolish the house and destroy the roost.

But she has now submitted revised plans to keep the old farmhouse and refurbish it, moving the new build 437 yards away.

She also wants to convert four barns into new homes and has applied for a ‘change of use’ from previous farm use including a milking parlour.

‘Given the complexity of the development, its planning history and weighing the clear ecological benefits, retaining the original farmhouse would represent a less harmful and satisfactory alternative to the currently obligated demolition and mitigation scenario,’ her planning agent said in a statement to the local council.

‘The applicants and their design team have been undergoing a rigorous process of review and site analysis to inform a more comprehensive approach to deliver an optimum proposal that makes the best use of existing buildings and deliver a wider package of environmental, ecological and place-making benefits.’

Beeny and her husband, the artist Graham Swift (right), would have needed a special licence from Natural England to demolish the house and destroy the roost

Under the current plans, Beeny would have to fix two bat boxes and two bird boxes in nearby trees.

A dedicated barn owl loft would also have to be built into one of the proposed buildings after a roost was found in one of the barns to be converted.

There will also be three house martin nest cups and three house sparrow nest boxes built into the new builds.

Beeny and Swift bought their estate for £3million five years ago after relocating from London with their four sons. Their eight-part Channel 4 series, New Life In The Country, features their extensive restoration of the 220-acre farm.

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