DISPLACED badgers have adopted a man-made badger sett near the construction line of the new A556 dual carriageway – and settled into their new home just in time for some Spring arrivals.

Infra-red, motion-sensor camera footage has captured a badger dragging nesting materials into the new sett.

The man-made sett is made up of a network of nine chambers with interconnecting tunnels constructed using plastic tubing and mounds of earth in a location just off the line of the new road.

And the arrival of three new badger cubs in April suggests the new family is there to stay.

Messenger Newspapers:

Badgers have settled into their new sett near to the A556

Liam Fahey, environmental coordinator for Capita, the project’s designers, said: “We’re absolutely delighted the badgers have adopted the new sett with so much enthusiasm.

“We used a few tricks to entice them at the start – they really love peanut butter - and waited a while to be sure they’ve really settled in so the arrival of three cubs is the icing on the cake.”

The work on the sett has just been highly commended in Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) awards and Liam and the rest of the A556 project team are hoping the success of the man-made sett is a sign of things to come.

Paul Hampson, Highways England’s project manager for the A556 work, said: “We’re all committed to minimising disturbance to the local wildlife during construction of the new road and several measures have been put in place to ensure the local environment is protected throughout.

“With the badgers moving in and other measures taking shape it’s already looking encouraging.”

Mitigation and improvement measures include replacement bat roosts, 21 ponds, three new barn owl boxes, mammal tunnels under the new road, a ‘green bridge’ across the dual carriageway for bats, badgers and other animals, and landscape planting.

Construction of the new A556 link road is due for completion in spring next year. The scheme is part of a £15 billion government investment in motorways and major A roads by 2021 which is being delivered by Highways England as part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative.