Members of the Kingsley Ward Action Group (KWAG) hope the discovery of badgers will thwart a proposed housing development on Kingsley Road.
Redrow Homes won outline planning permission to build 133 homes on appeal in August 2020 after it was initially refused by councillors on Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee.
A reserved matters application that gives a final rubber-stamp to development is yet to be signed off.
As part of the application, the developer submitted two ecology studies.
These found there were four badger setts in the area but only one or two were still actively used by the animal.
Members of KWAG bought a trail cam, which is a camera that is left outside and captures the movement of animals.
They claim their investigation found evidence of 11 badger setts, 6 of which it says are still active.
Mr Tremble said:
“How can complete amateurs spot this much badger activity so easily when so-called professionals failed completely?”.
KWAG has sent the results of their investigation to HBC councillors.
How the proposed development will look
Badgers and their setts are protected by law.
Developers must have a licence from Natural England to remove or modify a badger sett.
John Hansard from KWAG said the planning application must now be put on hold until the licence is approved, which could take months.
He said:
“There is proof of badgers on site. It’s the breeding season now so they can’t apply for a licence until the end of June. Nothing can happen until then.”
Redrow’s response
Traci Moore, land and planning director for Redrow (Yorkshire), said:
“We are committed to protecting wildlife in and around the proposed development. We have undertaken surveys of local wildlife and submitted ecological reports in line with the outline planning permission, including a detailed badger survey in 2021.
“We have also submitted proposals to reduce the impact of the development on the native badger population. These proposals are subject to ongoing discussion and agreement with the council’s ecologist.”
