HIGHWAYS officers are waiting for special Defra clearance over a badger sett before repairing a major road landslip, it was revealed last night.
Badgers are a protected species and Northumberland County Council says that although the Environment Agency is willing to be flexible, the sett issue is one of several that must be sorted out before any work can commence.
The B6309 between Stocksfield Station and Bywell in west Northumberland has been closed since early January, with Northumberland County Council saying repair work is unlikely to begin until May partly due to wildlife issues.
Local people are angered at the lack of action, and Northumberland County Show organisers, with a new venue this year at Bywell, are worried at a main access road being lost.
The Environment Agency this week told Hexham MP Guy Opperman that it informed the county council as long ago as September it would co-operate in speeding through permission for the work.
North East area manager Ian Hodge insists the Environment Agency has never held up work or advised that repairs be delayed.
But a council spokesman told The Journal last night: “There are other constraints we are facing, such as the location of a badger sett on the site, for which we need a badger licence from Defra. And there are gas mains and sewer mains to deal with.”
Newton and Bywell parish council registered its concerns in writing and Mr Opperman took them to the Environment Agency.
In a reply to Mr Opperman, Mr Hodge said: “I reassure you that we are prepared to work quickly with Northumberland County Council to enable their repair works to proceed as soon as possible.
“We advised NCC that while a land drainage consent is likely to be required, due to the urgent nature of the problem we would expedite its approval once it was received by us.
“We would be flexible regarding their need to work in the watercourse during a sensitive time of year.”
Mr Hodge added: “Work of this nature, which could affect fish spawning and migration, is usually restricted by law to protect the fish population.
“Given the limited impact on fisheries, however, at this location and the balance of needs for the local community for the road to be repaired promptly, we have not placed any timing restrictions on the works.
“We believe we can give a prompt decision within two weeks of an application being made to us. The statutory timeframe for such applications is two months.
“I’d like to be very clear that we are not holding up the work in any way and we have not advised that the work should be delayed. We have advised NCC that we would help them secure consent for their repair works as quickly as possible.”
However, the council says the situation involves more than only dealing with the Environment Agency.
The spokesman added: “We are talking to the Environment Agency about gaining consent for the repair work. However, there are other constraints we are facing.”
In its latest website bulletin, the council says: “Work is progressing towards a solution but it is not envisaged that construction of the repairs will commence before May 2013.
“The repairs are complicated by the presence of migratory fish, badgers, otters and potentially also bats which not only restrict the time of year that we can work but also require us to carry out further investigations and then apply for consents, permissions and special licences.”
