Slow worms delay building work

Work on a new housing estate has been delayed - thanks to a hibernating colony of slow-worms.

Last Updated: 1:57PM BST 09 Apr 2009

Developer Bovis Homes hoped to begin work on 300 new homes on land in Bristol but has been unable to get on parts of the site.

The slow-worms were discovered last July during a mandatory ecological survey of the council-owned site, in Horfield, preventing building work from starting.

The reptiles are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and will all have to be moved before work can start.

Ecology experts from Bath-based Ecosulis have fenced off the area and visit the site every day to try to catch the shy reptiles.

Harry Harris, site manager for Ecosulis, told the Bristol Evening Post: “We have caught about 30 or so over the last few weeks. They are quite easy to catch, as they are quite slow and sluggish.

“Slow-worms are cold-blooded animals so need to warm up before they can go out hunting or eating.

“Then we just pick them up, put them in a soft pillowcase to keep them safe and within half-an-hour we have them on the new site.”

The ecologists have to collect the slow-worms for a minimum of 20 days, and then there must be seven continuous days without collecting any before they can declare the site clear.

Bovis Homes plan to build about 100 houses for council tenants and a further 200 homes for private sale.

A spokeswoman for Bovis Homes, said: “The slow-worms were not found across the whole of the site, so their presence has not halted the project, but all appropriate ecological steps were undertaken to ensure their protection before any demolition work was carried out.”

The slow-worm is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, which makes it illegal to kill, injure or sell the species. Despite being a reptile, the slow-worm actually hibernates over winter.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/5131196/Slow-worms-delay-building-work.html