Newly appointed Church Commissioner, Caroline Spelman MP, the Church's representative in Parliament, revealed the plan when answering a question posed by fellow Conservative Bill Wiggin MP, who highlighted the growing problem of bats roosting in churches in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
Mr Wiggins wanted to know what discussions the Church Commissioners have had with the Department for Communities and Local Government on changes to planning regulations that could increase the supply of places suitable for bat roosts and reduce the incidence of bats roosting in churches.
Caroline Spellman said the Church Commissioners plan to seek an "early meeting" with the Department for Communities and Local Government regarding "changing the regulations" on bat roosts.
In recent years the Church of England has seen increased numbers of bats using church buildings as roosts.
Mrs Spellman acknowledged that increased usage of church buildings by bats for roosting was "causing considerable strain" on the parish communities and volunteers who maintain the parish churches alongside the "great expense" in cleaning and restoration of items of "great religious, cultural and historic" significance.
She said the Commissioners were also seeking to provide physical and long lasting solutions for the worst affected churches and create a wider support network for those with smaller or transient bat populations.
