RESIDENTS who have fought the destruction of a badger sett say they are furious that a housing developer has been given more time to close it off.

Campaigners in Kidlington said giving Pye Homes an extra fortnight to remove the sett could interfere with the animals’ breeding season.

Graham Flint, director of Pye Homes, was given permission by Natural England to destroy the sett in Webbs Way so that he can build a five-bedroom family home on the land.

His removal licence was set to end on November 30 so that it did not interfere with the badgers’ December breeding season.

But Mr Flint was given a two-week extension which ends today and his contractors have been working on the site, say campaigners.


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Webbs Way resident Linda Ward began a campaign in March against the development, which received signatures from more than 1,800 people from across the world.

She said: “Two weeks ago someone saw a badger in the sett, so they are still using it. The licence had expired so they should stop and give up. Natural England say they extend licences in ‘exceptional circumstances’, so they should not extend them unless badgers or people are at immediate risk.

“This is just because they don’t want to delay building works by waiting for the breeding season to finish. That’s very worrying because all builders will use this loophole.”

To remove badgers, Mr Flint built a fake sett nearby and installed one-way gates and electric fences to stop the animals returning to their original home.

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Some of the badgers pictured in a nearby garden

Badger Trust chief executive Dominic Dyer said working in December could be fatal: “They could be disturbing badgers breeding or giving birth. It’s a serious animal welfare issue. It could lead to premature death from stress.”

He added: “Natural England is little more than a rubber stamping exercise. Badgers are a protected species. They’ve been in this country for half a million years and some setts are hundreds of years old and should be protected.“ Natural England spokeswoman Melissa Gill said: “Natural England recently extended the term of the licence to ensure that any remaining badgers were safely excluded from the sett before its final closure.

“Although badgers are a protected species, action to close badger setts can be taken under licence, so long as the welfare of the badgers is not compromised.”

Mr Flint did not respond to the Oxford Mail’s requests for comment, but he did state in October that he was no longer planning on moving to Webbs Way because of the campaigners and intended to sell the land to another developer.

 


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