THE borough council has responded to accusations that it destroyed the habitat for wildlife after it razed vegetation to the ground as part of improvement works.

As previously reported, residents have complained that work to a pedestrian link off Lyford Road between South View and Basingstoke Railway Station had begun before a public consultation period ends on March 14.

Read more: Council accused of destroying wildlife habitat as part of improvement works

The council has cleared the entire site of vegetation, with concerns raised that this may have destroyed the habitat of wildlife including hedgehogs, slow worms, lizards, and bats.

Councillor Mark Ruffell, the council’s cabinet member for natural environment and climate improvements, has responded to concerns saying that the land “didn’t provide a varied habitat for the wildlife on the site”.

He added: “For a number of years the land at Lyford Road had become overgrown with scrub and had become a dumping ground for rubbish including concrete and rubble. This didn’t provide a varied habitat for the wildlife on the site and encouraged antisocial behaviour on a well-used walking route to the station.”

He said the scheme to create a better walking route was being supported with funding from South Western Railway, to “improve the biodiversity of the site”.

However, residents say that rather than improve wildlife habitats the council has destroyed them, scaring off any wildlife that may have been living there.

The leader of the Hatch Warren Nature Group, Paul Beevers, said: “The wildlife that lived on the two acres have been lost in a matter of hours.”

Cllr Ruffell said the scheme will include planting fruiting and flowering native trees and scrub to “increase the habitats for insects, birds, and other species”.

He said the council had been in contact with representatives from Natural Basingstoke regarding the project.

He said the area was inspected for bats and none were found.

However, an inspection for reptiles found one common lizard while he said slow worms “would have been hibernating underground during the work”.

He added: “To make way for this new layout, the dense scrub and a large amount of rubbish was cleared by the council in mid to late February, to avoid any impacts on nesting birds. Before the work started I met with two of the ward councillors on the site.”

The cabinet member said an historic hedgerow through the centre of the site was retained along with any healthy trees, adding: “This hedgerow can now be managed on a regular basis and can have the space to regrow and thicken to provide a dense habitat.”

For more information and to comment on the scheme visit basingstoke.gov.uk/lyford-improvements or email landscape@basingstoke.gov.uk before March 14.

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