Housebuilder protects wildlife with hedgehog highways

Britain’s hedgehogs have seen a dramatic population decline of 8.3% a year for the past two decades*. With 167,000 hedgehogs killed each year by vehicles*, roads are likely playing a significant role in the loss of the small mammals. To tackle these rising figures and protect the species, housebuilder Dandara has installed hedgehog highways across its developments at The Oaks in Sharnbrook and Saxon Park in Biddenham.

Teaming up with a local Hedgehog Rescue and Rehabilitation centre ‘Hoggieworts’, Dandara has received expert advice on how to best protect the animals at its developments.

13 x 13cm holes have been installed under boundary fences throughout the developments, creating a highway that provides a safe and connected network of green space that hedgehogs can roam through. With hedgehogs being listed as vulnerable to extinction in the UK*, the highways will help to increase hedgehog habitats and provide key refuges from pressures in the wider landscape, such as traffic and habitat loss.

Alongside the installation of the hedgehog highways, Dandara has also shown its commitment to the care of the species by making a donation to Hoggieworts Rescue, which will be used to feed and care for injured hedgehogs.

Rachel Pepper, Head of Sales at Dandara Northern Home Counties, comments: “As a responsible housebuilder, preserving and nurturing the wildlife and environment in which we build is of the utmost importance to us. We have installed a number of hedgehog highways across our developments and hope this can help to protect and increase the number of local hedgehogs. We hope to be able to roll this out across all of our developments, to ensure hedgehogs where we build have a safe space to roam.”

Val Saunders, Owner of Hoggieworts Rescue Centre, added: “The loss of hedgehogs would be absolutely devastating to our environment, which is why it is so vital to have measures in place to protect them. It is great to see Dandara installing highways at their developments, which I’m sure will make such a difference to hedgehogs in the area. Thank you to Dandara for their support and commitment to protecting the hedgehogs!”

Dandara is currently selling new homes at The Oaks in Sharnbrook and Saxon Park in Biddenham, where a selection of modern family homes are available.

To find out more about Hoggieworts Rescue and the vital work they are doing, please visit www.facebook.com/hoggieworts.