Upset over hedgehogs being killed on a York village’s roads has prompted calls to warn drivers with signs amid claims over inaction on the issue.
Cllr Christian Vassie, Wheldrake’s Liberal Democrat ward councillor, said City of York Council had come up with one excuse after another as to why they would not install the signs.
But council city development lead Garry Taylor said doing so would divert funds away from schemes proven to slow traffic down and save animals’ lives.
It comes as Cllr Vassie said Wheldrake residents approached him around ten months ago asking if the council would be able to install the signs on approaches to the village.
Cllr Vassie said it also came after the Government changed rules in 2023 so councils can install small animal warning signs on roads without needing Department for Transport approval.
The Wheldrake ward councillor said: “Residents have been upset at the number of hedgehogs killed on the roads around the village.
“We have sent the council numerous photos of squashed hedgehogs.
Endangered species
National studies showed the amount of hedgehogs had declined by between 30 and 75 per cent across the UK in the last two decades.
They are listed as vulnerable to extinction on the The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of British Mammals.
“We have dealt with each bureaucratic hoop the council throws at us but as soon as we deal with one they find another excuse.
“Sadly, it’s clear they are not interested in helping residents in my ward protect wildlife.
“It isn’t about the money because we have already identified the funding and, to be honest, I would happily pay £300 for four signs if the council blocked us from using ward funding.”
‘Run by officers’
He told YorkMix that he’d sent a huge amount of evidence to the council which showed the scale of the problem.
“So why it is that no directors of city development decide off the top of their head that there’s no evidence? I can’t explain that. I don’t know where they get that from.
“There is a systemic issue in my view at the city council. When I was elected way back in 2003 for the first time, I was told this is a council run by officers and not by politicians.
“I don’t think that’s the whole story, but there is this culture which the council just says no to things, and it it annoys me and it annoys local residents because at the heart of this, local authorities are meant to be working for the residents.”
Manage a limited budget
Council director of city development Mr Taylor said researched showed warning signs had little impact on driver behaviour unless they are linked to known animal crossing locations.
The director said: “While we recognise the importance of protecting local wildlife and appreciate residents’ concern for hedgehogs, we also have to manage a limited budget to best effect.
“Animal warning signs are effective in locations where deer are known to regularly cross the road, for example.
“If we were to divert our limited resources into a hedgehog warning sign programme then we would have to reduce our resource in other programmes such as requests for Resident Parking (ResPark) schemes and road safety projects – the latter of which are proven to slow drivers down and have the added benefit of protecting both people and hedgehogs.
“There are many locations across York where hedgehogs are active so we would anticipate requests for signage from many areas.
“For these reasons, we will not be progressing the request for additional hedgehog signs at this time.”
