Plans to demolish existing buildings and replace them with one three bedroom maisonette, eight two bedroom flats and a single one bedroom apartment went before Hastings Borough Council's planning board this week.

Because the proposed site houses a family of badgers, councillors heard from two badger experts - one opposing the scheme and one supporting it.

Speaking on behalf of a group of petitioners, Melvyn Johnson urged the council to make more provisions for the local badger population.

He said: "We do not object to the site being developed, we just think having ten homes on this space is too much.

"We are concerned about the amount of which will need to be done to protect the badger set.

"The set is 25 meters long and has a number of entrances within the development site. We need to ensure the future safety of the set and protect the animals access to a nearby water supply.

"If there was the access and proper protection we would be happy with the proposals."

Peter Mortimer, of the Sussex Badger Consultancy, told councillors he had been working closely with the developers, The Park Lane Group, to make sure the badgers would suffer as little disruption as possible.

He said: "We will guarantee the badgers will be able to pass freely from the site to their normal water supply.

"The set will also be allowed to grow and will not be compromised in any way.

"It will have a greater level of protection then if the site's former industrial use had continued."

Councillor Godfrey Daniel thanked both experts for attending the meeting and encouraged his colleagues to support the application.

He said: "This site was industrial but has not been in use for a number of years. We cannot just leave it empty for ever.

"Any sort of development will impact the badgers in some way. There will be access for the badgers and I cannot see any reason not to approve this."

The application was approved.