Hedgehogs 'under threat' from plans for HS2 lorry park in key habitat

Central London’s only remaining population of hedgehogs is under threat from HS2, experts have warned.

The project for the proposed high speed rail link between London and the north of England wants to use the London Zoo’s car park as a lorry park, but conservationists from ZSL warn that the hedgehogs which live in dense shrubbery there would be left in a "vulnerable position" should the plans go ahead.

The car park that has currently been earmarked as a site for the lorry park is one of the hedgehogs' last-known habitats, but would be used by heavy goods vehicles and construction trucks for up to 20 years.

The experts from ZSL have said that the land is a key habitat for the declining British species, and are set to appeal to a House of Lords select committee to request that HS2 finds an alternative location for the vehicles.

ZSL has been working with the Royal Parks Foundation and independent hedgehog experts to carry out surveys of Regent's Park, in which the zoo is sited.

Early findings suggest the group of hedgehogs living in the zoo car park are faring better than their counterparts in the main area of Regent's Park, although more work is needed to find out why, the experts said.

Zoological director of ZSL Professor David Field said: "It may seem strange that we're seeking protection for a car park, but this is an example of the increasingly desperate reality for urban wildlife.

"Forced by human pressures to find sanctuary in the unlikeliest of places, it is our duty to protect the remaining refuges of these creatures.

"While HS2 have admitted that their proposed use of the car park as a lorry-holding site will pose a risk to the hedgehogs, they have not accepted our advice that no mitigation measures will be enough to protect them from that risk."