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We've all gone batty!!!
Capenhurst restarts demolition as bats enjoy new luxury 'loft-style' living.
Capenhurst Site has resumed work on a project that was halted following the discovery of protected bats that were roosting inside a building earmarked for demolition.
Teams at the site, which is aiming to be the first UK nuclear site to complete its clean-up programme in 2009, stopped preparations to demolish the former uranium enrichment facility in January, after noticing a colony of Pippistrelle bats hibernating in its structure.
After a four-month delay, during which the environmental protection body Natural England and the local council were consulted, the site has funded the building of bespoke roosts nearby so that demolition work could continue.
Ian Thomas, deputy head of site at Capenhurst, said: "We've gone the extra mile to provide these protected bats with a safe environment in which to live and breed they now have the bat equivalent of luxury loft-style living with all mod cons.
As the colony settles in to its new home, it's really important that we restart quickly our work to demolish this building to maintain the good progress we've made in accelerating the site's clean up."
This is the second time that work on the site has had to be stopped due the presence of a protected species. Three years ago the chance discovery of a rare bee orchid by a member of staff meant excavation work had to be postponed while the plant was moved to a safer location.
Ian Thomas said: "At Capenhurst our business is safe clean-up and storage, however, we've always taken our environmental responsibilities very seriously because our countryside location and tranquil environment mean that wildlife, ranging from rabbits to protected species, are an integral part of the site."
Demolishing buildings is the final stage of clean-up at Capenhurst which is part of Sellafield Ltd. The current building demolition project an area the equivalent of four football pitches is the largest undertaken at the site.
This work represents a significant challenge, given the nature of the decommissioned facilities and the layout of the site, which is adjacent to Urenco Capenhurst Limited. Despite this the Capenhurst team has successfully cleared more than 72,000m2 of building footprint on site to date and is entering the final stages of site clearance.
Sellafield Ltd at Capenhurst ceased its uranium enrichment operations in 1982 and the gaseous diffusion plant, the UK's first, is now one of several buildings on site scheduled for demolition. All have had to be checked for bat occupation so that future work does not face similar delays.
