People who buy a house on a planned new housing estate in the Noord-Holland town of Hoorn will be forbidden to install garden lighting so as not to disturb the protected bats in the area, says the Noordhollands Dagblad.

The housing estate will be built on the bats’ evening route to the Markermeer lake and Hoorn council will include a clause in the sale contract that garden lights will not be allowed.
According to the paper, this is a trick to avoid having to spend time applying for an exemption from the flora and fauna law which can cause lengthy delays to construction work where protected animals or plants are found.