Burrowing badgers cause £100,000 of damage to Mablethorpe road

Badgers tunneling under a road in Lincolnshire have caused £100,000 of damage, a council has said.

According to Lincolnshire County Council, the mammals had dug a nest under the A52 on Seaholme Road, in the middle of Mablethorpe.

Emergency repairs must be made to the road to prevent it from falling apart, an authority spokesman said.

However, the council had to wait for a permit from Natural England before the work could be carried out as badgers were a protected species, she added.

The authority had wanted to carry out the repairs earlier, but now that the permit had been granted, the spokesperson said there was almost no time left for the emergency work.

All work on the badger setts must be completed between July and the end of November so that the repairs do not disrupt the badgers’ mating season, they explained.

Councilor Richard Davies said: “In total these works will cost us a further £100,000 to complete.”

The Mablethorpe area already has road closures on the A1104 due to tarmac work, and Davies said the authority was aware of traffic issues in the town.

The A1104 plan could not be stopped because it was at a critical point, he said.

“Our hands are tied in planning these conflicting works,” Davies explains.

“We have no choice but to get this additional program operational immediately.

“If there was another option available to us, we would take it.”

Davies added that it was “extremely frustrating that we have not been granted this license to date”.

A condition of the permit issued by Natural England requires the work to be carried out under a road closure to ensure the safety of the badgers.

The council spokesperson said the work would be carried out between 9am GMT and 4pm GMT on Saturday 8 November and Wednesday 20 November.

Outside these hours a three-way traffic light system would come into operation so that the road could be used.

Natural England has been contacted for comment.

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