- Southend Green Party’s Hedgehog Highways motion goes to Cabinet on 21st July, aiming to make gardens and streets more wildlife-friendly.
- The plan includes working with Essex Wildlife Trust and others to map hedgehog habitats and improve connections across the city.
- New developments will be encouraged to include features that support hedgehogs, helping to reverse their dramatic population decline.
The Southend Green Party is pleased that its Hedgehog Highways motion will be considered by the Council’s Cabinet on Monday 21st July.
Green Councillor for Leigh, Stuart Allen, first brought the motion to Full Council in March. The aim is to help hedgehogs move more easily between gardens and green spaces by creating a city-wide network of “hedgehog highways”, small gaps in fences that allow these much-loved creatures to travel safely. The plan would make Southend’s neighbourhoods more connected, greener, and more wildlife-friendly.
The recommendations being put to Cabinet include working with the Essex Wildlife Trust, Southend Youth Council and other local partners to better understand current hedgehog numbers and identify where improvements are most needed. This will build on data already gathered through the Greater Essex Local Nature Recovery Strategy. The council’s planning team has also confirmed its commitment to ensuring new housing developments support hedgehog-friendly features.
“After submitting our Hedgehog Highways motion to Full Council back in March, I’m really pleased to see positive recommendations now going to Cabinet. These steps could make a real difference for our brilliant native hedgehogs – nature’s little pest controllers – whose numbers have dropped from 30 million to under 1 million since the 1950s.
It’s great to see the council planning to work with Essex Wildlife Trust and other groups, using existing budgets and external grants to support the scheme. I look forward to seeing how the project takes shape.”
Cllr Stuart Allen
The motion was seconded by Independent Group Councillor Susan Badger, who represents Thorpe Ward.
– ENDS –
Notes to editor:
The report pack for the Cabinet meeting on the 21st July can be found here
https://democracy.southend.gov.uk/documents/g4876/Public%20reports%20pack%2021st-Jul-2025%2018.00%20Cabinet.pdf?T=10
Agenda item 9 (page 121) features the report on the motion.
Cllr Allen’s motion states:
This Council notes that hedgehog populations in England have experienced a significant decline over the past six decades. In the 1950s, it was estimated that there were approximately 30 million hedgehogs across the UK; today, the population has fallen to well below one million across England, Scotland, and Wales combined.
One contributing factor to this decline is the widespread use of concrete gravel boards, which obstruct natural travel routes between gardens. This forces hedgehogs onto roads, leading to increased fatalities and fragmented populations.
Hedgehogs play a vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems by providing natural pest control, contributing to biodiversity, and improving soil health. Their presence supports the balance of our natural environment, which is increasingly under threat.
This Council therefore resolves to:
- Establish a Hedgehog Highway Scheme to support existing residential areas, raising public awareness and providing grants to homeowners who replace concrete gravel boards with timber alternatives featuring hedgehog access holes.
- Incorporate hedgehog-friendly design into planning conditions for new developments, requiring the inclusion of hedgehog access holes in fencing and ensuring residents are informed of their purpose.
- Explore further initiatives to enhance local hedgehog populations, including the promotion of wildlife-friendly gardening practices and a reduction in pesticide use.
- This Council recognises the importance of proactive conservation measures and commits to supporting the protection and recovery of hedgehog populations within our local area.