David Gilmour has a problem with bats

A farm in West Sussex in need of renovation and some bats: it seems like the beginning of a horror film, it’s (just) David Gilmour’s real estate misadventure. In fact, the guitarist risks seeing the renovation project of his property in England slowed down, after the discovery of several protected species present in the buildings to be recovered.
Gilmour and his wife, the writer Polly Samson, have unveiled a plan to redevelop four poorly maintained barns on the 17th-century property near Billingshurst, turning them into a garden studio, a pottery workshop with a kiln and a guest annexe. The project involves the maintenance of some refuges and the creation of new compensatory accommodation, but to proceed Gilmour will have to obtain a special license from Natural England, the body that deals with environmental protection.

According to reports from various English newspapers such as the Daily Mail and the Telegrapga, Gilmour commissioned an ecological study and seven shelters of bat varieties protected by British law were found in the buildings: soprano dwarf bat, barbastello, long-eared bat and others. Horsham District Council has not yet made a final decision on the redevelopment plan.

It is not the first recent construction dispute for Gilmour: last year the musician was forced to remove a garden structure at his home in Hampstead, London, after planning disputes. According to the Daily Mail, Gilmour also had to significantly lower the selling price of his seaside house in Hove, from 16 million pounds to 9 million.