19th June 2006, 05:47 PM
My concern would be for the protection of the building fabric internally. Guano can cause significant damage to wooden floors and beams. A maintenance plan should include provision for cleaning this up from time to time, if this can be done without affecting the species concerned. This may require timetabling to ensure that any such works will be carried out outside mating/breeding seasons etc.
A lot depends on the specifics of the building in question, its plan, layout, age and accessibility.
In my experience, environmental (ie. species protection) legislation outweighs archaeological protection. This is probably for political reasons. For instance archaeological work has often been delayed or modified by the need to protect certain nesting species or particular habitats; it is much rarer for a species to be allowed to be killed off or relocated to permit archaeological works.
In the long term, provided the fabric of the building is adequately protected, the presence of roosting creatures is likely to improve the chances of its long term protection.
A lot depends on the specifics of the building in question, its plan, layout, age and accessibility.
In my experience, environmental (ie. species protection) legislation outweighs archaeological protection. This is probably for political reasons. For instance archaeological work has often been delayed or modified by the need to protect certain nesting species or particular habitats; it is much rarer for a species to be allowed to be killed off or relocated to permit archaeological works.
In the long term, provided the fabric of the building is adequately protected, the presence of roosting creatures is likely to improve the chances of its long term protection.