Breeding badgers have forced the closure of a Suffolk road for six months after the council said they could not be disturbed.
Flowton Road was forced to close in March after a family of badgers burrowed beneath the tarmac, tossing piles of sand into the undergrowth and causing the road to partially collapse.
Despite desperate pleas from local residents, the council has confirmed the road will not reopen until September as it needs the permission of Natural England, a government-sponsored body responsible for conservation, as badgers are a protected species.
In March Suffolk County Council were working to get permissions to carry out the repairs, but their website now shows these works will not be complete until mid-September.
A council spokesperson previously said: “As badgers are a protected species Suffolk Highways has a legal obligation to seek a license from Natural England to undertake road repairs in the vicinity of badgers. To ensure that badgers are not disturbed during their breeding season Natural England usually only issue licences between 1 July and 30 November.
“Suffolk Highways are now liaising with Natural England to plan the necessary repair works, which are likely to be undertaken during the summer. It will therefore be necessary to keep this emergency road closure in place until we are able to carry out these repair works.”
A spokesperson from the Countryside Alliance said: “It is ridiculous that people’s livelihoods have been put on hold when these badges could easily and safely be moved so the road could be repaired.
“The badger population has doubled in the last 20 years, we cannot put the needs of badgers ahead of those who live and work in the area.”
A Natural England spokesperson said: “We are working closely with Suffolk County Council to ensure the badgers are protected and the necessary repairs are made to the road as soon as possible.
“Once we receive an application we will assess the situation and ensure that work is carried out in a sensitive manner causing minimal disturbance to the badgers and the local community.”
John Field, a Suffolk County Councillor for Flowton said that the road closures are unnecessary as the badgers have already left the area.
“We need to look after badgers and protect them in the areas where we’re not culling them, but it’s my belief that the badgers that were there have left”, he said.
“They're sensible creatures - after the road collapsed on their sett they left.
“We could trap them and take them somewhere else. To me that seems a reasonable move in the situation.
“Leaving that road closed for months on end is completely inconvenient. It’s particularly crucial at the moment because there are issues with other roads that have to be closed for engineers to lay electricity wires.
“If you have a village with three roads in and out, having one road closed is inconvenient, but having two leaves you with few options.
“It’s an over-response to the need to protect wildlife.”