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A police investigation was launched in late 2024, after Cyngor Gwynedd Planning Department reported buildings on the Peblig Industrial Estate in Caernarfon had been demolished without authorisation.
FI Real Estate, based in Chorley, had applied for planning permission to develop the site two years earlier, including demolishing derelict structures.
A structural survey has supported the early demolition of the buildings, but a bat survey carried out in early 2023 identified roosts for three bat species.
This meant that the demolition needed a European Protected Species (EPS) Licence from Natural Resources Wales (NRW), which required that a replacement bat house be built. In June 2023, a senior biodiversity officer rejected the developer's proposed shelter design, requiring changes before demolition took place.
In September 2024, the company went ahead with the demolition, despite not having received permission.
The offences breached the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. FI Real Estate was ordered to pay the fine in full within three months.
Rural crime team sergeant Peter Evans said: 鈥淭he demolition caused irreversible harm to a protected species.
鈥淒evelopers and property owners have a clear legal obligation to carry out the necessary surveys and secure the correct licences before starting work and adhere to them.
鈥淭he conviction sends a clear message that wildlife crime is not a victimless offence, nor is it an acceptable cost of doing business.鈥�
After news of the fine had been published, the company reached out through a spokesman to offer comment. In a statement, it explained that聽the building contained asbestos and had been the target of repeated trespassing incidents involving children, posing a significant risk to human life.
The company said there is no evidence to suggest that bats were in the building at the time of demolition, and the demolition took place outside the bat hibernation season. It claimed that no bats were harmed during the demolition process.
FI Real Estate Management said that it erected a bat mitigation house on site before the demolition work, and that it remains in use by bats. The developer said it decided to act on health and safety grounds to prevent potential harm and danger to human life.
A spokesperson for the company said,聽"Between January 1, 2024, and September 5, 2024, there were at least eight incidents of trespass or suspicious activity on the site. On September 5 alone, there were three separate incidents, while on May 20 there were reports of eight youths running towards the derelict buildings, with one seen throwing stones.
"On each occasion, we reported the incidents to the police, who unfortunately were not always able to attend. Once it became clear that children were accessing a dangerous structure, we had to step in. We take our environmental responsibilities seriously and regret that this unfortunately led to a breach of the law, but safety must come first.鈥�
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