Following recent negotiations, an agreement has been reached between Northumberland Bat Group and ERIC NE for the delivery of NBG data as part of the ERIC NE data request service. This agreement will improve access to Biological records for Bats in Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside, and mean that all records can be accessed through a single point of contact and a single request, while continuing to support the conservation work undertaken by NBG.
From 12th July all requests for bat data can be submitted directly to ERIC NE via ERIC’s online data request form. From that date, Northumberland Bat Group data will be included in ERIC standard searches and bat only searches.
We think this new arrangement will be good for bats and good for commercial consultees for the following reasons:
NBG’s bat records will be used more widely to advise whether development is appropriate.
Consultees will be able to access a much larger data set through a single consultation and for a single fee (rather than two consultations and two fees).
ERIC NE are also able to respond in a more timely fashion to data requests than NBG can, being a wholly voluntary organisation.
Finally, we ask that all NBG members and friends continue to submit their bat records directly to NBG, where they are still important in supporting us and will continue to advise our conservation efforts.