Strimmers, highways, developments and help for hogs
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A couple of months ago I wrote to my local council about strimming, use of pesticides etc and how this fitted in with Highland’s local Biodiversity Action Plan. I had also recently been chatting with a member of council staff who was strimming the overgrown back lane which is well used by local hogs (he was very helpful and said he certainly would not want to inure any wildlife).
I did receive an email back from the Council’s environment team, saying that they are committed to reducing the use of pesticides/herbicides on land they own or manage – restricted use mainly for invasive non-native species. They also plan to increase the areas left uncut. They also said (quote): “The new ‘Developing With Nature’ guidance, soon to be published, will have bearing on all local planning developments. This guidance outlines a number of measures developers can use to improve biodiversity (which is a requirement of the new National Planning Framework 4). ‘Hedgehog highways’ are included in the list of biodiversity measures, highlighting this issue is being taken seriously within the planning service.”
The Scottish Government is preparing a new National Planning Framework and I had a look for the “developing with nature guidance ” mentioned by the council. A draft has been prepared by NatureScot (I think the English equivalent is Natural England?). It has sections on planting for nature, providing homes for nature (including hog highways). Will be interesting to see how the final guidance is linked into national planning. Anyone interested in NatureScot’s draft guidance can find it on https://www.nature.scot/doc/consultation-developing-nature-guidance
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