The demolition of the Ravelijn building has been suspended immediately after construction workers found bat droppings on the third floor. Because bats are a protected species, a special exemption is needed for the demolition to resume. And that could take months.
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| The demolition of the Ravelijn building |
Perhaps the delay will last for half a year. Marien Florijn, director of the Vastgoedgroep Drienerlo (Realty Group Drienerlo), who is responsible for the demolition work, sees his losses growing by the day and he speaks of huge setbacks. Three weeks ago, he was tipped off by an EEMCS employee. `This person had seen bats flying around in Ravelijn two years ago. We contacted the consultancy firm Eelerwoude. We always collaborate with them when protected flora and fauna need to be recorded. That is what we had previously done, but Ravelin wasn't on the list back then.'
`Because of the e-mail, a biologist from Eelerwoude preformed a quick-scan on Wednesday, February 27. The man discovered nothing that pointed to the presence of bats. That's why the demolition continued unhindered. The UT employee that had warned us suggested that the bats had probably moved on to the nearby Cubicus building to find shelter.'
But nothing was further from the truth. Construction workers found fresh bat droppings. `We halted the demolition immediately. Bats are a protected species and we need to act according to the flora and fauna legislation. That is separate from the demolition permit and a special exemption to resume work needs to be requested from the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.'
Because this so-called exemption request does not have a legally-bound reaction period, Florijn is afraid that it could take months before a decisive answer is given. `The delay can be for up to six months. That means we suffer losses. How much that will be precisely is unclear at the moment,' says the director. `But in the meantime, the construction costs will certainly rise.'
The employees of the School of Management and Governance, which are housed at the Capitool building just outside the campus grounds, need to wait another six months for their new accommodation on the site of the Ravelijn building. `The faculty has been informed of the delay.' Florijn thinks the special exemption will be granted eventually. `We probably need to wait until the young bats have flown out. That will be in September.' Until then, the bats are still hibernating and a fence has been erected around the building.
