It has already been established that Straitgate Farm has high ecological value for wildlife; it must have, if dormice have been found:
The hazel or common dormouse is an important 'bio indicator', preferring to live in rich, well, managed native woodland with a mix of species for seasonal food. Its presence is a marker of woodland rich for many species of wildlife.
SLR assessed the 2km of ancient hedgerows that Aggregate Industries want to grub up:
A detailed ecological survey was conducted of all hedgerows within the site. Collected data was analysed against the criteria within the Hedgerow Regulations 1997 to identify hedgerows classified as ‘Important’ under the Regulations. A total of 42 hedgerows were surveyed and assessed. Of these, 31 hedgerows were confirmed as ‘Important’ under the environmental criteria, and 36 were of ‘species-rich’ status.
Not all farms are like Straitgate.
2 new studies on state of nature on farms & failings of #CAP greening https://t.co/NbY6oKovme #CAPtruecolour pic.twitter.com/LnssZTkueZ
— EEB (@Green_Europe) November 11, 2015
But try telling that to AI. AI is treating Straitgate's European Protected Species as an afterthought, wanting to forget the 10,547m2 of new woodland habitat that was supposed to have been planted - but was not - and that would have been "primarily managed for dormice" 8.257.
AI will have to do better than that. Where do the dormice go when 2km of hedgerows are ripped out? Dormice can't escape excavators by crossing roads. And Straitgate is surrounded by roads. Send your answers on a postcard to AI, or more importantly to DCC. It was an important issue for Taylor Wimpey:
A major expansion to a Somerset town has been held up for ten years – because it will cost half a million pounds to build a bridge for dormice
