A NEW house planned to be built in a garden that neighbours fear will disrupt a ‘hedgehog highway’ has been approved by Southampton City Council’s planning panel.

The proposal, in Carnation Road in Swaythling, is for a two-storey, three-bedroom house to be attached to a corner semi, taking over the side garden – and turning the houses into terraces.

The application received five objections from neighbours who were worried the new ‘concrete jungle’ would get in the way of hedgehogs on their route to and from the nearby Daisy Dip park.

The area is listed on the Hedgehog Street site as it is a well-known path for the animals.

Due to the objections, Ian Bartholomew’s application was discussed at the city council’s planning panel meeting on Tuesday (January 23) where it was unanimously approved.

The planning officer said: “There is a condition within the report that requires details of boundary treatment to be secure.

“(It) allows for something that’s been picked up in the local press – (the) hedgehog highway, where holes (in the fences) have been (put) into the plan to allow wildlife to migrate down toward Daisy Dip.”