What is the Welsh Government doing to increase the number of hedgehog highways in Wales?
Hedgehogs are found in most habitats but are increasingly associated with urban areas, particularly parks and gardens. The Local Nature Partnerships Cymru, funded by Welsh Government, provide advice and materials to communities at a local level to promote hedgehog-friendly gardens.
Hedgehog highways are an excellent example of a small-scale positive measure for biodiversity that can be undertaken by developers (particularly housing developers) with relative ease and little cost. It is a biodiversity enhancement measure that is very much supported by Welsh Government and aligned to our planning policy framework. As a result of the Section 7 duty under the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 several Local Planning Authorities have, for example, required housing estate designers to include hedgehog passages in fence designs as a requirement of planning permission.
In addition, my officials are working with Welsh Government Transport Directorate on the provision of wildlife underpasses on trunk roads and green corridor features along road verges, embankments, and cuttings. For example, the Newtown and Caernarfon/Bontnewydd bypasses have ‘dry pipes’ under them specifically for wildlife, these are in addition to drainage requirements.