A colony of voles is to be moved from its natural habitat to make way for a major housing development in Didcot -- even though planning permission has not yet been given for the new estate.

Water voles living south of the A4130 will be moved after an application by George Wimpey and Taylor Woodrow was approved by the Vale of White Horse District Council on Tuesday night.

The animal is an endangered species whose population has declined by 90 per cent in the last 30 years and a local scientist said the move could seriously affect their survival.

George Wimpey and Taylor Woodrow have applied for permission to build 4,000 homes in west Didcot. The land inhabited by the voles will be needed for a road linking homes with the town.

The area has been allocated for new houses, but a Planning Inspectorate inquiry is not expected to report back until May. A decision on whether the estate will be built will not be made until January.

Sara Davidson, an independent district councillor, said: "Why does this colony of water voles -- Britain's rarest, most vulnerable animals -- need to be moved at all?

"The Vale has prejudged the outcome of the inquiry, held up two fingers to local democracy and given Ratty the boot."

Robert Bulman, a research scientist and campaigner for sustainable Didcot, said: "In the last 100 years the vole population has dropped to five per cent. There's no need to move them. Stress caused by changing habitat impairs breeding success."

Nick Laister, technical manager at RPS planning consultants for George Wimpey and Taylor Woodrow, said: "All we are doing is creating a new habitat a year in advance. If planning permission is not granted, then we will not move them."

Planning officer Michael Gilbert said: "They are proposing to divert the voles through a pipe. This needs to be done early to give the voles time to relocate."