Bat’ll do nicely!

As part of a commitment to improving countryside access for public enjoyment, Midlothian Council has refurbished and upgraded two foot and bridle path tunnels beneath the A701 Edinburgh Road and an adjoining smaller local road. To provide quality light for the safety of walkers, cyclists and horse riders, the council has installed 75 vandal resistant Flow luminaires (with twin 36W PLL lamps) from WRTL Exterior Lighting in an installation specially configured for the resident bats.
Keith Slight, lighting manager of Midlothian Council explains: “The two tunnels, one 70m long and the other 110m, connect areas of countryside which are cut off from Penicuik by the roads. They were both unlit, and as a result were more or less abandoned.
“Perhaps as a result of this lack of disturbance, the tunnels have become important bat breeding colonies, and our desire to improve the amenity value of the pathways has had to take account of their habits. In consultation with local ecological and nature conservancy groups, we devised a compromise.
“Bats are particularly sensitive to disruption during the night when they are most active. As a result, we agreed that the tunnels would not be lit at night, when they would not be used much anyway, as they are out in the country. As a result, we hope that we can combine human amenity value with sensitivity to the needs of our fragile ecology.”