Company restores wildlife habitat after admitting liability for damage

Handforth bird box

A Lancashire woodland management company has restored a wildlife habitat in Handforth after admitting liability for damaging it.

The firm carried out the restoration after admitting to the offence of ′disturbing nesting birds′ at a site earmarked for new development at ′The Race′, next to Caldy Road in Handforth.

Disturbing nesting birds is an offence under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981.

The incident occurred during February 2014 when an area of woodland was cut down by the company on behalf of a developer, prior to an application for housing being submitted.

Cheshire Police Wildlife Crime Officer PC Jim Day, who works as part of the Knutsford Rural Watch Scheme, conducted a joint investigation with RSPCA Inspector Andy Harris.

The woodland management company was investigated and admitted liability for disturbing nesting birds at the site.

Police made a decision to take a Restorative Justice approach to repair the damage which had been caused.

Under Restorative Justice, the woodland management company produced an Ecology Enhancement Plan. This resulted in the company re-sustaining the wildlife habitat by placing six bat boxes, three open-fronted Robin boxes, three Blue Tit boxes and four hedgehog boxes around the site.

PC Jim Day said: "This type of incident shows that we take wildlife crime seriously in Cheshire.

"Through a joint police investigation with our partners at the RSPCA, the company acknowledged that they had done wrong and paid £1,500 to put the matter right by installing bird, bat and hedgehog boxes around the woodland site which we believe has put these wrongs right."

RSCPA Inspector Andy Harris said: "When development of land is planned the wildlife in it is often not taken seriously enough. A comprehensive habit survey needs to be carried out for all animals that could live on the land before any work takes place."

Photo: shows one of the bird boxes in situ at the site.

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Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

David Jefferay
Thursday 30th October 2014 at 8:20 am
Good result. It may not have been a huge forest but every time we chip away at these little areas and destroy wildlife, our habitat becomes a little less pleasant.

However, the cynic in me wonders if such companies do commercial risk assessments and decide whether a fine of £X would be an acceptable risk against commencement of early works, and then proceed at risk.

If I had my way, such actions would put a black mark against any subsequent planning permission application.
DELETED ACCOUNT
Friday 31st October 2014 at 8:03 am
This is an interesting one. Many developers just send in companies to do this type of survey. Worse still was the case of Adlington Road Development when one day men in asbestos suits appeared without warning at the back of Overhill Lane to remove outbuildings that backed immediately onto the lane - and it was not in the winter months and it was a windy day. These sheds were part of the nesting territory for the many bats on the site. I suspect that the Council and the RSPCA would be less than willing to take action in this case.
Terry Roeves
Saturday 1st November 2014 at 10:50 am
And prior to destroying Pipistrelle nesting sites, two mature vigorous trees were cut down along the Adlington Rd that now give access to the green fields now approved by Cheshire East Council for housing. Without this access point, then the site plan would be very different or would not even exist.

No trees have been planted as Restorative Justice and CEC failed to act obo Dean Row residents. It's far too much of a coincidence that out of a dozen or so trees, it had to be these two specifically that were felled.
So, are our bats going to make it through the winter? Where and how? What else has been possibly fatally disturbed? Perhaps all is fine, but there are no facts in the public domain, that I have found.

Then with 200 houses and possibly several hundred more, further east on Adlington Rd, the food chain in the River Bollin is under serious threat. Plus prescription drugs that prevent fish reproduction, seems that a new invisible pollution will kill off the river, returning it to Victorian times.

Mr Jefferay makes an excellent point and I expect that his vigilance as a Cllr will be far better than Cllr Menlove, who together with Cllr Whiteley surely haven't done sufficiently well to deserve our future votes.
When things go right, they take the glory, when they go wrong it's not their fault. So common in today's CEC world.
Simon Worthington
Wednesday 5th November 2014 at 1:29 pm
PC Jim Day said: "This type of incident shows that we take wildlife crime seriously in Cheshire.
So our boys in blue were busy protecting bats and birds. Surely the wildlife crime they should be bothering about occurs usually on Friday and Saturday nights!!!
Andrew Backhouse
Wednesday 5th November 2014 at 2:25 pm
I am interested that the issue of the felling of a tree in which falcons were nesting, nor the bulldozing of the moderately active badger sett, have appeared in the story. I am not sure that bat boxes and bird nesting boxes will really do much for either of these. Whilst I think restorative justice is a major step forward, it would seem better to plant some semi mature trees at least.