ePetition details
Make Hedgehog Highways a Planning Condition
We, the undersigned, petition the Council to reconsider the decision not to make hedgehog highways a planning condition for major planning applications.
We support Newbury Town Council's request that new housing developments should include five inch (13cm) holes at the bottom of fences to help hedgehogs move freely in order to feed and breed.
Far from being an over-burdening condition, as claimed by West Berkshire Council, it is a common sense measure that would protect this vulnerable species. According to the State of Britain's Hedgehogs report, numbers are down in rural areas by between 30% and 75% since 2000.
The government's Natural Environment guidance recommends
planning conditions that benefit wildlife including hedgehog
highways, bat boxes and swift bricks. WBC already regularly
conditions bat boxes.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/natural-environment#biodiversity-geodiversity-and-ecosystems
Hedgehog highways would also help WBC meet obligations to achieve
biodiversity net gain on developments and contribute to the
creation of Nature Recovery Networks.
We therefore urge West Berkshire Council to reconsider the shortsighted decision and adopt planning conditions in line with government guidance.
This ePetition ran from 03/08/2022 to 16/09/2022 and has now finished.
396 people signed this ePetition.