article_snippet.sent: The bill for moving the creatures is nearly six times the original estimate, The bill for moving the creatures was revealed today.
article_snippet.sent: But now the Environment Agency has admitted that another £86,000 had to be spent on a 'wildlife survey'.
article_snippet.sent: Previously the Environment Agency had claimed a 'wildlife survey' was not part of the cost of relocating the voles.
article_snippet.sent: And when other costs are factored in, the scheme came to £135,000.
article_snippet.sent: a 'wildlife survey' involved setting up traps along the river banks and checking them over a period of several months - the cost of which was not previously disclosed.
article_snippet.sent: He said dredging often took place across the Levels before the Environment Agency took over, and that in the past the Environment Agency had never appeared to affect the vole population. '
article_snippet.sent: It is unusual for the agency to undertake a substantial relocation project like this.'