At some point I hope I'll sort out planning and build a house on the land (it's just within a village's 30mph limit) but there's no rush.
Problem is that this afternoon as my partner and I drove onto the land along a lane over the ditch, I spotted a water vole type animal swimming about in the ditch. We paused and waited a while and it appeared again, but was in deep shadow so not exactly easy to identify.
It wasn't a rat, stoat or weasel (I see them often enough) yet there aren't any water voles in this area as far as we know.
So, what I'm asking is simple - will me telling the powers that be about my probable rare animal spoil any hope of building my house in the future, or should I just let the voles get on with it unprotected? If a farmer further along pours fertilizer in the ditch and kills them, it would be my fault if I kept my trap shut. On the other hand, the only place I can really build on is within 50 yards of the ditch, so would them being there stop planning permission?
Having spent years (and thousands of pounds) encouraging wildlife onto my once dead land, I'm wondering if it'll mess up my hope of living there myself! Stoats, toads, newts and allsorts have a home now, thanks to me .... and I'd quite like to share it one day
Any advice, please?
