40. Extract - Badger Survey Report - April 2020

Please note that sections have been redacted under Regulation 12(5)(g) of the Environmental Information Regulations – Protection of the Environment. The redacted sections specifically identify the location of active badger setts and the public disclosure of this information would expose these sites to potential interference and/or damage.

West Sussex County Council LYMINSTER BYPASS BADGER SURVEY REPORT

002 APRIL 2020 CONFIDENTIAL

West Sussex County Council

LYMINSTER BYPASS BADGER SURVEY REPORT

TYPE OF DOCUMENT (VERSION) CONFIDENTIAL

PROJECT NO. 70042870 OUR REF. NO. 002

DATE: APRIL 2020

WSP 2 London Square Cross Lanes Guildford, Surrey GU1 1UN Phone: +44 148 352 8400

WSP.com

LYMINSTER BYPASS CONFIDENTIAL | WSP Project No.: 70042870 | Our Ref No.: 002 April 2020 West Sussex County Council

QUALITY CONTROL

Issue/revision First issue Revision 1 Revision 2 Revision 3

Remarks First Draft

Date April 2020

Prepared by Verity Dickie

Signature

Checked by Rosie Pope

Signature

Authorised by Adrian Hutchings

Signature

Project number 70048270

Report number 002

File reference 70048270 - Lyminster Bypass 2018 Planning Application\WIP\05 Disciplines WIP\03 Ecology\03. Technical Studies\Pre Construction Surveys\Badger Report

LYMINSTER BYPASS CONFIDENTIAL | WSP Project No.: 70042870 | Our Ref No.: 002 April 2020 West Sussex County Council

CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3

1 INTRODUCTION 4

1.1 PROJECT BACKGROUND 4 1.2 ECOLOGICAL BACKGROUND 4 1.3 BRIEF AND OBJECTIVES 4

2 METHODS 5

2.1 BADGER SURVEY 5 2.2 LIMITATIONS 6

3 RESULTS 7

3.1 BADGER WALKOVER SURVEY 7

4 IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT 8

4.1 OVERVIEW 8 4.2 LEGISLATION 8

5 RECOMMENDATIONS 9

5.1 OVERVIEW 9

6 CONCLUSION 11

7 REFERENCES 12

8 FIGURES 13

LYMINSTER BYPASS CONFIDENTIAL | WSP Project No.: 70042870 | Our Ref No.: 002 April 2020 West Sussex County Council

TABLES

Table 3.1: Sett and potential sett recorded within the Survey Area 7

FIGURES

Figure 1 – Application Site Location Plan Figure 2 - Badger Survey Results

APPENDICES

PHOTOGRAPHS

LYMINSTER BYPASS CONFIDENTIAL | WSP Project No.: 70042870 | Our Ref No.: 002 April 2020 West Sussex County Council

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

West Sussex County Council (WSCC) was granted planning permission for the construction of a new bypass in Lyminster, Sussex. The bypass will comprise the carriageway, a viaduct over the Black Ditch, a footway/cycleway, an equestrian crossing, drainage and associated landscaping, and is hereafter referred to as the ‘Scheme’. To support the planning application for the Scheme, WSP undertook a suite of ecological surveys, including a badger survey, in 2017. The results of these surveys were used to inform the Ecological Impact Assessment (EcIA) that was prepared for the Scheme (WSP, 2018a). Due to the time lapse between the surveys being undertaken, and the scheduled date of construction commencing (2020), it was set out within the EcIA that an updated badger survey should be undertaken prior to construction commencing to establish if any new badger setts had been created within the construction zone, or if any badger setts previously considered to be disused had since become active. WSP was therefore commissioned to undertake a badger survey of the entire Site (comprising the maximum extent of works), plus a 30m buffer (hereafter referred to as the Survey Area) in March 2020. The badger survey comprised a walkover of the Survey Area to map and record any evidence of badgers, including setts, runs, latrines and snuffle holes. The Survey Area was found to support one active badger sett, judged to be either an annex or subsidiary sett, (Sett 2) and one potential outlier badger sett (Sett 1). Additional evidence of badger activity, including mammal runs, dung and snuffle holes were recorded. Based on the results of the badger survey, badgers are considered to be present within the Survey Area. Badgers and their setts are protected under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. Therefore, further survey in the form of camera trap monitoring is recommended for Sett 1 and Sett 2 to determine their level of use by badgers. Depending upon the results of the camera trap monitoring, as Sett 1 and Sett 2 are located within the construction zone of the Scheme, it may be necessary to apply for a licence from Natural England for the closure of the setts. A mitigation strategy for sett closure would form part of the licence application. Given that badgers are present within the Site, they are likely to commute or forage within the construction zone. As such, a number of good practice measures during construction have been recommended to ensure compliance with legislation regarding badgers.

LYMINSTER BYPASS CONFIDENTIAL | WSP Project No.: 70042870 | Our Ref No.: 002 April 2020 West Sussex County Council

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 PROJECT BACKGROUND 1.1.1. West Sussex County Council (WSCC) was granted planning permission in 2019 (Application reference: WSCC/049/18/LY) for the construction of a new bypass, comprising the carriageway, a viaduct over the Black Ditch, a footway/cycleway, equestrian crossing, drainage and associated landscaping, hereafter referred to as the ‘Scheme’ 1.1.2. The new bypass will form the northern section of a new north-south road link between the A27 Crossbush Junction and the B2187 East Street / Fitzalan Link Road roundabout in Littlehampton. The northern section is being delivered by WSCC (and the subject of this report) whilst the southern section is part of a larger private development. 1.1.3. The Application Site (hereafter the ‘Site’) comprised predominantly of arable and grazing land over an area of approximately 13ha, see Figure 1, The Site is divided by the Black Ditch, a river which flows east to west. 1.2 ECOLOGICAL BACKGROUND 1.2.1. WSP undertook a suite of ecological surveys at the Site in 2017, and subsequently prepared an Ecological Impact Assessment (EcIA) to support the planning application (WSP, 2018a). 1.2.2. A badger survey was undertaken of the entire site and a 250m buffer in 2017, during which six badger setts and a number of signs including latrines, snuffle holes and mammal runs were identified. Two of the setts (Sett 4a and Sett 4b) identified were located towards the southern part of the Site, but at the time of survey were considered to be dis-used. The remaining setts were located over 100m from the Scheme extent and therefore were not considered to be affected as a result of the Scheme. 1.2.3. As the use of an area by badgers can change rapidly, it was set out in the EcIA that, prior to the commencement of works, a walkover of the route of the Scheme would be undertaken. This would aim to check the status of the two disused setts, and to check for the presence of any new setts that may have been created in the time lapse between the initial badger survey and the commencement of works. As such, it was recommended that an updated badger survey of the extent of the Scheme be undertaken. 1.3 BRIEF AND OBJECTIVES 1.3.1. WSCC commissioned WSP in February 2020 to undertake a pre-construction badger survey. The brief was to:  Undertake a badger survey comprising a walkover of the Site, plus a 30m buffer to identify and locate badger setts as well as other field signs left by badger.  Provide results of the badger survey and recommendations for further survey, where necessary.

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2 METHODS

2.1 BADGER SURVEY 2.1.1. The badger survey covered the Site and up to 30m beyond, (the Survey Area), as shown on Figure 2. This area was subjected to a field survey in March 2020. 2.1.2. The Survey Area was searched for evidence of badger following the standard methodology as outlined by Harris, Cresswell and Jeffries (1989) and with regard for recent reviews and comment on these methods (Roper, 2010). 2.1.3. Where present, evidence indicative of badger presence was recorded; including:  setts;  dung pits and latrines;  foot prints;  mammal paths;  hairs; and  other evidence including snuffle holes, feeding remains and scratching posts. 2.1.4. Where setts were recorded, their status and level of activity was noted. Sett status is broadly categorised as follows:  Main: generally the largest sett within a badger social group home range, with a relatively large number of sett entrances with well-worn pathways between them, and conspicuous spoil mounds. This type of sett tends to be occupied throughout the year and is used for breeding;  Annexe: normally found within 150m of the main sett and comprising multiple entrances, this type of sett is connected to the main sett by one or more obvious well-worn pathways. It may not be occupied throughout the year, and can be used for breeding if there is more than one breeding sow within the group.  Subsidiary: similar to an annexe sett, but typically located further from the main sett (at least 150m away). This type of sett will not be occupied throughout the year and lacks the well-worn paths connecting it to another sett which are associated with main and annexe setts.  Outlier: normally consisting of one or two entrances, often with little spoil outside and with no obvious path connecting it to another sett. This type of sett will tend to be found furthest from the main sett and will only be used sporadically throughout the year. 2.1.5. Sett use or level of activity is broadly categorised as follows:  Well used sett/hole: shows evidence of current use (as defined by Natural England, 2015), such as fresh spoil or bedding, well-worn pathways between entrances and the presence of badger hair.  Partially used sett/hole: no evidence indicating current occupation (as distinct from current use), though hairs may be present as these can persist for some time. The sett may be occupied intermittently and cannot be categorised as disused. It could easily be reoccupied; for example, it may contain some leaves or sticks in tunnel entrances, but entrances are not blocked and it would take little effort for a badger to reoccupy it. Badger field signs may not have decayed to the extent they can be categorically considered to no longer indicate current use (as defined by Natural England, 2015).

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 Disused sett/hole: a badger sett that appears to have been abandoned by a badger social group is described as ‘disused’; these differ from partially used setts which can be temporarily disused (not in current occupation, but in current use). Disused setts are often completely blocked with vegetation or have collapsed and badger field signs are no longer present, or have decayed to the extent that they do not indicate current use. 2.1.6. Where encountered, other mammal excavations were recorded during the survey. Information including the location, a description of the type of evidence (i.e. pathway or burrow) and where applicable any signs of current use were recorded. 2.1.7. The badger survey was completed over two days on 12 and 13 March 2020 by experienced surveyors with over four years’ experience of ecological surveys, including badger surveys. 2.2 LIMITATIONS 2.2.1. The badger walkover survey was conducted at suitable times of year, when vegetation cover was less prevalent to enable observation of badger setts and latrines. However, where dense vegetation cover was present, it is possible that signs of badgers could have been missed. 2.2.2. Badger sett status can change quickly. New setts can be excavated, and setts can quickly be re- occupied after a long period of disuse. The data within this report represents an accurate assessment of badger activity within the Survey Area at the time of survey but there is potential for sett locations, status or level of activity to change prior to the commencement of works within the Survey Area.

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3 RESULTS

3.1 BADGER WALKOVER SURVEY 3.1.1. Badger activity was recorded in several locations across the Survey Area. This included one active badger sett, a potential badger sett and signs of badgers included mammal runs, snuffle holes and dung. The results are described in Table 3-1 below and sett locations are shown on Figure 2. Photographs of evidence of badger are shown in Appendix A. Table 3.1: Sett and potential sett recorded within the Survey Area

Sett Number Sett Status / Type Sett Description

A small potential outlier sett located on an embankment within plantation woodland. Three entrances present, but only one of 1 Potential outlier sett sufficient size to be in use by a badger. Fresh badger dung observed immediately outside the potential sett. See photographs 1 and 2 in Appendix A.

A sett with three entrance holes in total, two active and one partially used. One of the entrances is very active with fresh spoil present. There are a number of well-defined mammal runs coming away / going towards the sett. See photographs 2 Annex/Subsidiary 3-5 in Appendix A. Given the location of this sett, it is possible that it is Sett 4b, recorded as dis-used during the 2017 badger survey (WSP, 2018b) 3.1.2. Additional evidence of badgers recorded within the Survey Area included mammal runs in close proximity to where the sett and potential sett are located (see photograph 6 in Appendix A), snuffle holes and fresh dung immediately outside Sett 1. The locations of this additional evidence are shown on Figure 2.

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4 IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT

4.1 OVERVIEW 4.1.1. Badgers and their setts are a legally protected species under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 Activities that would otherwise constitute an offence under this legislation may be licenced by Natural England for certain purposes. As the Scheme already has planning permission, applicable planning policy has not been included within this section. Recommendations as to how the legislation may be satisfied are set out in Section 5. 4.2 LEGISLATION THE PROTECTION OF BADGERS ACT 1992 4.2.1. The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 makes it illegal to wilfully kill, injure or take any badger, or attempt to do so. It also makes it an offence to intentionally or recklessly damage, destroy or obstruct access to any part of a badger sett. Activities that would otherwise constitute an offence under this legislation may be licenced by Natural England for certain purposes. 4.2.2. Natural England typically only approve licences to close setts between July and November inclusive, to avoid the sensitive breeding season.

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5 RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 OVERVIEW 5.1.1. Monitoring surveys should be undertaken at Sett 1 and Sett 2 to determine their current usage by badgers. As both setts fall within the construction zone, a licence from Natural England will be required to close these setts if they are both deemed to be in current use. 5.1.2. General avoidance and mitigation measures are also provided below to prevent impediment of commuting badgers across the Site during the construction phase. FURTHER SURVEY AND SETT CLOSURE UNDER LICENCE 5.1.3. It is recommended that motion sensitive cameras are deployed at Sett 1 and Sett 2 to clarify the use (or otherwise) badgers make of these entrances given their proximity within the construction zone. To ensure sufficient length of sample period it is recommended these are deployed for at least three weeks, with data collected weekly for evidence of badgers or other mammals. Although such monitoring surveys can be undertaken at any time of year, the periods February to April inclusive and September to November inclusive are considered optimal due to increased badger activity during these periods. 5.1.4. Should the monitoring surveys confirm that badgers are actively using Sett 1 and Sett 2, it will be necessary to close the setts prior to commencement of construction under licence from Natural England. Development licences are typically only issued for sett closure work between July and November inclusive, in order to avoid the badger breeding season. To obtain a licence, a suitable mitigation strategy must be in place. Additional survey effort of the wider area may be required to inform the licence application and the mitigation strategy. GENERAL AVOIDANCE AND MITIGATION MEASURES 5.1.5. The following recommendations should be followed during the construction period to minimise effects upon badger movement and foraging behaviour across the Site:  Avoid blocking badger runs which are not directly affected by the Scheme.  Avoid leaving open trenches into which animals could fall. If this is not possible a means of egress should be provided, such as a plank. It should be ensured dangerous areas such as deep excavations are fenced to prevent badger access or covered overnight.  Across the Scheme, ensure at least one safe crossing point of the construction footprint is available every 100m.  Avoid storage of plant or materials on areas of potential foraging habitat (such as retained grassland, woodland and arable margins).  Avoid night works where possible, to avoid disturbance through the use of artificial lighting, and ensure the Site is left unlit at night during the construction period. If lighting of some areas is unavoidable, then hoods, cowls or shields should be used to avoid light spill onto setts or known badger paths. ECOLOGICAL ENHANCEMENT MEASURES 5.1.6. The proposed landscaping, upon establishment, will provide increased scrub, grassland and hedgerow habitat for badgers. Additionally, badger fencing and two badger crossing points will be installed, positioned close to badger foraging and commuting routes identified during the 2017

LYMINSTER BYPASS CONFIDENTIAL | WSP Project No.: 70042870 | Our Ref No.: 002 April 2020 West Sussex County Council Page 9 of 13

badger surveys (WSP, 2018b) and confirmed during the 2020 surveys. This will allow a safe place for badgers to cross the new road and to be able to access a wider area of foraging resources.

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6 CONCLUSION

6.1.1. One active badger sett and one potential sett was identified during the badger survey within the construction zone. Further survey is recommended to determine the use of these setts by badgers, and thereby determine the need for licencing. 6.1.2. General avoidance measures with regards to foraging / commuting badgers should be adhered to during the construction period.

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7 REFERENCES

PROJECT REFERENCES  WSP (2018a). Lyminster Bypass. Ecological Impact Assessment.  WSP (2018b) Lyminster Bypass. Appendix H, Badger Survey Technical Report. TECHNICAL REFERENCES  Harris, S., Cresswell, P. & Jefferies D. (1989). Surveying Badgers. Occasional Publication No.9. The Mammal Society, London.  Natural England (2015). Guidance: Badgers: surveys and mitigation for development projects. Standing advice for local planning authorities who need to assess the impacts of development on badgers.  Roper, T. J. (2010). Badger. Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 114 (First Edition).

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8 FIGURES

Figure 1 – Application Site Location Plan

Figure 2 - Badger Survey Results

LYMINSTER BYPASS CONFIDENTIAL | WSP Project No.: 70042870 | Our Ref No.: 002 April 2020 West Sussex County Council Page 13 of 13 3 4 : 0 1

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West Sussex County Council

Project: Lyminster Bypass

Title

Badger Survey Results

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