Newbury council plans for 'hedgehog highways' rejected

The hedgehog population is down in rural areas by between 30% and 75%, according to a report

Plans for a hedgehog super highway have been rejected.

Newbury Town Council requested a condition for new housing developments to include holes in fencing to help stop the decline of the mammal.

Introducing "hedgehog friendly" fencing would create a highway for them to move between gardens, the council said.

West Berkshire Council, which is the planning authority, said it advocates for positive measures but a blanket policy would not work.

"Hedgehog highways would not meet the requirements of national planning legislation because there is no specific evidence of a fall in the district's hedgehog population, making it difficult for council to introduce such a policy," a spokesperson said.

'Absurd'

Councillor Richard Somner added the authority cherishes wildlife and "will do everything in its power to safeguard it", encouraging communities to include hedgehog-friendly measures in neighbourhood development plans.

A national petition calling for hedgehog highways has been signed by more than 1.1 million people.

The petition said the hedgehog population was declining partly because landscapes were being fenced off into ever smaller fragments.

It has called for new housebuilders to include five inch (13cm) holes at the bottom of fences to help hedgehogs move freely.

According to the State of Britain's Hedgehogs report, numbers are down in rural areas by between 30% and 75% since 2000.

Hugh Warwick, an ecologist at the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, started the national petition and said the town council in Berkshire was not alone in trying to introduce the conditions in new developments, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

He said: "The national planning policy framework has hedgehog highways as a clear piece of guidance for new developments.

"It would be absurd for West Berkshire to set themselves in opposition to a sensible plan to help the nation's favourite animal."

Newbury Town Council has said it would pursue the matter further.