Plans for a new purpose-built hedgehog rehabilitation facility in Lancashire are in the pipeline to deal with an increase of animals being cared for.

An application has been lodged with Wyre Council planners for the construction of a mixed-use building for storage of forestry machinery and a hedgehog rehabilitation facility, on land at Hales Hall in Drybread Lane, in the village of Out Rawcliffe.

The new facility would be used to accommodate the work of charity Hedgehog Rescue Blackpool.

A design and access statement, submitted with the application, stated: “The hedgehog rehabilitation part is to provide additional accommodation for Hedgehog Rescue Blackpool, a registered charity for which the applicant and his partner are trustees and volunteers.

“There are several satellite sites associated with the charity (generally in volunteer’s homes), however due to the founder reducing the volume of hedgehogs that they personally rehabilitate, there is a need for capacity elsewhere.

“Hedgehog Rescue Blackpool was established in 2015, and has had an increasing number of hedgehog admissions year on year (from 121 in 2017 to 943 in 2023).

“During summer 2024 a number of other regional hedgehog rescues have had to decline further admissions due to lack of capacity.

“The operation is run by volunteers and is very time-consuming. It normally takes four weeks to bring a sick or injured hedgehog back to good health, and during the winter they can be in the care of the charity for up to four months if they fail to achieve the release weight prior to hibernation.”

The report also states the applicant is maintaining a new woodland containing 4,596 trees (comprising 15 different native broadleaved species) in the interests of biodiversity enhancement on approximately 11 acres adjacent to the site.

This is the forestry element of the activity and half of the proposed building is to accommodate machinery and equipment ancillary to this.