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Plans for a new surgical hub designed to cut NHS wait times have been delayed after developers were told to install a “hedgehog highway”. A £9m surgery in Scunthorpe was approved North Lincolnshire Council in July, with the provider, One Health Group, saying the health centre would be open by late summer 2026. However, the project now faces delays after it was told construction could only go ahead if a “biodiversity enhancement plan” was put in place. This includes “provisions for hedgehogs to pass through any fencing installed between areas of grassland”. Also known as “hedgehog highways”, the requirements usually entail constructing small, ground-level access points where the mammals can scuttle through. One Health Group has since announced that the surgical hub is expected to be operating by the end of 2026, a delay of at least four months. It is understood that it is the specific requirements on environmental concerns, which also include requirements to create habitats for bats and reptiles, that is preventing the construction of the site from going ahead. David Lawrence, co-founder of the Centre for British Progress think tank, said: “The whole point in building the surgical centre was so NHS patients in Lincolnshire can get the treatment they need as quickly as possible. Our planning system should serve public health, not the other way around. “Of course, we need to protect Britain’s natural heritage, but the way to do that is to invest in genuine conservation of Britain’s wild areas. It is possible to do that while building the health infrastructure we need in urban areas.” The council’s consultations for the project included reports on ecology, environmental protection, and archaeology. In the planning approval, it states: “No building shall be brought into use until the biodiversity enhancement plan has been approved in writing by the local planning authority and the development shall be carried out and subsequently maintained in accordance with the approved biodiversity enhancement plan.” The ecological report also requires “integrated bat bricks and bat foraging areas”, as well as “details of areas to support reptiles and invertebrates”. Reptiles which are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 include the adder, common lizard, grass snake, and slow worm. On Wednesday, a Government proposal to prevent animal habitats from blocking construction was hit with rebellion in the House of Lords. Peers voted overwhelmingly for an amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill that would force developers to protect the habitats of wildlife on the land they hope to build on. One Health Group’s health hubs deliver additional surgical operating capacity in regions with limited provision of NHS services. The company currently treats around 12,000 patients a year across its existing sites. Once built, the facility in Scunthorpe will provide NHS-funded medical procedures including orthopaedics, general surgery, gynaecology and urology. ‘We have great respect for the local biodiversity’ Adam Binns, CEO of One Health Group, said: “Our timeline has always been for the Surgical Hub to operational by the end of 2026 and we are very much looking forward to bringing this much needed resource to the local community. “Our surgical hub will offer high-quality secondary care to NHS patients, locally, at no cost to the patient, and short waiting times to an underserved area, supporting rising NHS demands and helping to reduce waiting list times. “Preparation for the construction site is underway and whilst we have great respect for the local biodiversity in undertaking this work, it has not provided any cause for delay in our progress.”
