PLANS to develop a community hospital could be scuppered by bats.

The Fenwick Hospital in Lyndhurst was under threat of closure but has been saved with plans for extra day clinics and outpatient services which are already under way at the hospital, in Pikes Hill.

But plans for extra parking and improvements across the site to help accommodate the new services could be thrown out - because of the resident bats.

The New Forest is home to some of the rarest breeds of bat in Britain and exactly which types are living at the Fenwick needs to be established before any developments can go ahead.

Chris Pawling, of Hampshire Bat Group, said: "All bats are protected by law. If they start building or knocking things down and then discover bats, they will have to stop work and wait until the bats have gone.

"In the New Forest there are some very rare bats, including Barbastelle and Bechstein's. Bats are important because they keep insect numbers down - they can eat up to 3,000 small insects in one night.

"Once it is established whether bats are on site, the developers will have to provide something to ensure they can continue to live there, such as bat boxes."

The plans will go before New Forest National Park Authority planners next week but the recommendation is for them to be thrown out.

A report that will go before the meeting explains the alterations could pose a risk to bat roosts.