South Ribble Borough Council last night (17 July) approved a new plan to support the borough’s hedgehogs and to encourage local communities to work together to protect them from highway dangers.
South Ribble Borough Council last night (17 July) approved a new plan to support the borough’s hedgehogs and to encourage local communities to work together to protect them from highway dangers.
The Hedgehog Action Plan outlines how the council will work to support habitats, create dedicated Hedgehog ‘corridors’, encourage pro-biodiversity development and to raise awareness of how everyone in the community can make changes to support hedgehogs and other wildlife.
Councillor Kath Unsworth, Cabinet Member for Environment and Streetscene said, “I’m delighted that we can bring forward this plan to make real positive impacts on our hedgehog population.
“One of Britain’s most iconic native mammals, and protected by law, the hedgehog is under threat and in decline across the country and we want to make sure in South Ribble that we are doing all we can to preserve the wonderful species and support hedgehogs to thrive.
“This work sits hand in hand with our other biodiversity and climate change action plans allowing us to work towards a Net Zero borough by 2030.”
Hedgehogs can be found right across the country but thrive in established urban habitats, surviving well in cities where they make use of gardens, cemeteries, wasteland, and parks.
As part of the action plan, the council will:
- Encourage operational staff to ‘Think Hedgehog!’ while they undertake their duties.
- Support habitats by changing our maintenance schedules with the aim of keeping hedges dense by cutting once every three years and on rotation so that no more than one third of hedges are cut in any one year. This will only apply to hedgerows where additional growth will not block access or impact sightlines.
- Encourage growth at the base of hedges and ‘Gap-up’ hedges with additional planting and laying.
- Minimise the use of pesticides
- Provide a means of ramped escape from steep sided features (ditches and ponds) and replace broken drain covers.
- Promote Hedgehog Street – hedgehog highways on our own land and across the borough
- Encourage the removal of barriers to the movement of species
- Support the community to be more hedgehog conscious and to make positive changes to support hedgehogs in their area
- Ensure that emerging Local Plan sets strong ambitious targets for improving biodiversity through development
Councillor Unsworth continued, “This important action plan to support our hedgehog population has been very much championed by my fellow Councillors, Nicky Peet and Jo Hindle-Taylor and I thank them for their contribution and unwavering passion to support our important wildlife and habitats.
“As with much of our climate change tackling work, we cannot do this alone and in isolation so we are calling upon our communities to do what they can to support hedgehogs and other wildlife in the borough.
“We’ll soon be launching a dedicated awareness campaign and also working closely with schools to share what we can all can do to help our hedgehog population.”
To support hedgehogs at home you can:
- Create a pile of leaves and dead wood to form an undisturbed sheltered area and install a hedgehog nest box.
- Creating hedgehog holes in impermeable fences
- Avoiding chemicals and slug pellets
- Cover open drains and gullies and providing a means of escape from garden ponds
- Provide a feeding station and a source of water
You can find the report and action plan at https://southribble.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=134&MId=4220&Ver=4