With advice from Starling Learning, who surveyed the club for bats last summer, we have applied to NatureScot for permission to remove the relevant parts of the building before the pipistrelles return from hibernation.
New bat accommodation will be provided nearby – CALA is putting 38 bat boxes at Weaver’s Brae, and we will have three more in the trees behind Waterside Miners Club car park. As the land there slopes down to the Luggie Water, the pipistrelles will be perfectly located to swoop down towards the river (where they’re often seen in warmer weather) for their midgie snacks (up to 3,000 a night per bat).
Our aim is to carry out demolition in two phases, with the bat roost and asbestos removed by end February/March 2026 and the rest of the building later in the year.
Below are photos showing the lie of the land taken by local photographer and historian Edward Z Smith for our licence application to NatureScot.
By the time the next Waterside bat walks take place, we’ll know the sopranos are secure in their new homes when not performing acrobatics as they hunt for food.