A Glasgow-based construction firm has claimed to be the first to protect a water vole habitat.
City Building and Scottish Natural Heritage teamed up to save endangered water voles living beneath a site in the Easterhouse area of Glasgow following the start of repair and upgrade work on local housing association properties.
An ecological survey uncovered a new burrow system underneath storage containers which made up the site’s staff facilities.
To protect the animals, City Building applied for a licence to remove the water voles’ shelter and replace it with turf, which the firm said will root and grow to provide a more natural habitat.
Alan Burns, City Building’s depute executive director said, “By safely removing the storage containers and replacing them with turf, the area is now well established for the water voles to call home. For enhanced habitat protection, we also scattered wildflower seed and established a new mowing regime to ensure no future disturbance to the habitat.”
