What progress has the Commission made in making the Senedd estate friendly to hedgehogs, such as by implementing hedgehog highways?
We now cut the grass alongside the Senedd building only once a year - turning this patch of unused land into a wildflower strip, a haven for insects and other wildlife. We also expanded the Tŷ Hywel garden in 2021, doubling the size of it. It now hosts a range of mature shrubs and pollinator-friendly flowers. Linking these two sections of diverse forage is a large gate with gaps under it, large enough to accommodate a hedgehog. After reviewing the accessibility of the estate to hedgehogs , we found it was this area we wanted to encourage them most in. Given much of the rest of the open area of our land is a car park and access roads, we did not wish to provide any further access holes which may encourage hedgehogs onto the area frequented by vehicles.
We will continue to minimise the maintenance of the wildflower strip and Tŷ Hywel garden, in order that any hibernating hedgehogs are not disturbed.