Residents' fears over building site deer safety

Concerns have been raised about the welfare of wild deer that graze on a site approved for 140 homes.

Miller Homes plans to build the homes off Tadcaster Road at Copmanthorpe near York.

Some local residents said a fence erected to protect the site had left deer injured with groups separated, and had forced some of the animals to graze on housing estate lawns.

In a response seen by the BBC to one resident, Miller Homes said it took the impact of its development on wildlife "seriously", adding it had been "commended" for the measures it had put in place.

Plans for the development were approved by City of York Council in December.

However, a number of residents wrote to the developer, stating one displaced deer had been run over and killed on the road into the village, with another seen injured and limping.

They also told the BBC other deer had been seen in housing estate gardens.

Copmanthorpe resident Gillian Temple said her doorbell CCTV camera had recorded footage of deer on her driveway.

"When we looked at the footage we saw they were really scared and although it was lovely to see them on our driveway we knew they shouldn't be there," she said.

"We were concerned and wondering how they got there and how they would get away from the drive safely, knowing we have the road out front."

Ms Temple added: "We used to see them regularly on that triangle of land that's now earmarked for homes.

"We appreciate people need homes, but if humans develop every square inch of land the deer don't have anywhere to live and that's not right."

The worries follow a speech on 29 January by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who said the government would achieve economic growth by "reducing the environmental requirements placed on developers when they pay into the nature restoration fund that we have created, so they can focus on getting things built, and stop worrying about bats and newts".

Tina Hampton, who lives in Copmanthorpe, said she had contacted independent group the Wild Animal Welfare Committee (WAWC) for advice, after she saw a deer trapped in fencing around the building site.

Libby Anderson, secretary of WAWC, told Ms Hampton residents should call the police for assistance if they saw injured or displaced animals.

She also warned human intervention was very stressful for the animals, which could die from "capture myopathy".

In a response seen by the BBC to another anxious resident, a spokesperson for Miller Homes said: "We were saddened to hear about the killed deer, and we have run this issue by our independent ecologist.

"The fencing erected is for tree protection prior to starting works, albeit there has been boundary fencing in place for quite a while before that."

The spokesperson added: "As well as protecting the trees we will need to install further fencing to ensure the general public, and particularly children, don't come into what could be a dangerous environment."

The firm told the BBC it had been "made aware of an incident regarding deer entering the site prior to work commencing".

They said a visit to site by local police had "confirmed no animal welfare concerns were present".

A spokesperson said: "We believe this access was gained by the deer due to a gate being opened and the fence damaged by an unknown third party. This has now been repaired and as such we expect this to be an isolated incident."

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.