Hedgehogs and development: free guide for developers
Hedgehogs are disappearing at an alarming rate. The recent State of Britain’s Hedgehogs 2022 report revealed that hedgehogs in Britain have undergone a long historic decline, but differences between urban and rural populations are increasingly apparent.
The two wildlife charities behind this report, the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and People’s Trust for Endangered Species, launched the Hedgehog Street campaign in an effort inspire the British public to help us protect our hedgehogs.
Why are they in decline?
Hedgehogs travel around one mile every night through parks and gardens in their quest to find enough food, nest sites and mates. With new developments popping up all over the country, we are increasingly fragmenting the landscape, whether it be by installing fences and walls, or building new roads. This makes it very difficult for hedgehogs to get from one green space to the next. This is why ‘Hedgehog Highways’ are a great solution. By cutting a small 13cm x 13cm holes in the garden fences of new homes, you will instantly improve connectivity throughout the development and help protect this endangered species.
New free guide available!
With the help of the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, Hedgehog Street has now published a free guide for developers and house-builders, providing lots of tips on how to help hedgehogs, including how to make ‘Hedgehog Highways’.
This free guide includes advice for helping hedgehogs on your site before, during and after the build – all with the purpose of helping to protect local hedgehog populations and encourage nearby ‘hogs to return to the site. It includes tips on:
- instructions on how to make ‘Hedgehog Highways’
- recommendations on removing hazards from your site
- advice on how to survey for hedgehogs in the area
- providing educational resources to new homeowners on hedgehog conservation and how they too can get involved
- animal welfare advice for sick or injured hedgehogs
- details about what habitat features will best help hedgehogs thrive, such as native planting, wildlife ponds and retained areas of deadwood and scrub – a hedgehog’s preferred habitat!
- Land management advice for completed development sites
We need your help to make new developments hedgehog-friendly.
To request a hard copy of our free advice guide for developers and house-builders, please contact Hedgehog Street at hedgehogs@ptes.org and find out how you can help hedgehogs on your site.
If you are a member of the public and have concerns about a local development, please find our advice here.
