Pilot aims to reduce development delays caused by newts

24th August 2015


Related Topics

Related tags

  • Local government ,
  • Construction ,
  • Business & Industry ,
  • Ecosystems ,
  • Biodiversity

Author

IEMA

A new licensing process for great crested newts aims to reduce development delays by taking a more strategic approach to habitat protection.

Natural England, which is piloting the approach, said that the existing system is costly and time-consuming and can delay development as it can only occur during particular seasons.

Currently, developers on sites with great crested newts are required to carry out a survey and assessment before applying to Natural England for a licence to move the animals before building work can begin.

The new approach involves providing compensatory habitat for newts before development begins. It will also result in better knowledge of the size and distribution of great crested newt populations, which is currently patchy, Natural England said.

The pilot is being carried out with Woking Borough Council in Surrey. The council has already identified the size, location and connectivity of great crested newt populations by testing for traces of their DNA in pond water.

This information feeds into the production of a local conservation plan for the newts, which aims to retain, enhance and link up the most significant populations of newts; identify areas where development will have the least impact; and specify where new habitat will be created to ensure a healthy overall population. Developers will probably avoid areas that are identified as sites of high conservation value, Natural England said.

The pilot will begin in the autumn and Natural England will consult national and local partners from conservation organisations and the development industry to evaluate it.

The new approach would place the emphasis on the species as a whole, compared with the current system, which focuses on individual newts, said Andrew Sells, chair of Natural England.

A more flexible and strategic approach will result in habitat being created where it most benefits newt populations and where it can form a network, rather than being squeezed in around developments, he said.

“Alongside creating strongholds for great crested newt, this ground-breaking approach will streamline the delivery of much-needed development and lift constraints on the layout and design of development land,” he said.

Stephen Trotter, director of the English Wildlife Trusts, said that the pilot could be very good news if it can find practical and transparent ways of providing better, more joined-up habitat.

However, he warned that Natural England would need to develop strong scientific evidence and a robust methodology to show that it works for great crested newts and can be repeated elsewhere. Trotter advised Natural England to take its time to ensure the new approach works.

“The Wildlife Trusts are potential partners in helping to find sound win-win practical solutions and we will be submitting some ideas for how the pilot might be designed and run to answer our questions and give everyone confidence in the new approach,” he said.

Subscribe

Subscribe to IEMA's newsletters to receive timely articles, expert opinions, event announcements, and much more, directly in your inbox.


Transform articles

UK’s CCUS strategy based on outdated assumptions, government warned

The UK government’s carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) strategy is based on optimistic techno-economic assumptions that are now outdated, Carbon Tracker has warned.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s latest Public Attitudes Tracker has found broad support for efforts to tackle climate change, although there are significant concerns that bills will rise.

13th March 2024

Read more

A consortium including IEMA and the Good Homes Alliance have drafted a letter to UK government ministers expressing disappointment with the proposed Future Homes Standard.

26th February 2024

Read more

Global corporations such as Amazon and Google purchased a record 46 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind energy last year, according to BloombergNEF (BNEF).

13th February 2024

Read more

Three-quarters of UK adults are concerned about the impact that climate change will have on their bills, according to polling commissioned by Positive Money.

13th February 2024

Read more

The reality of delivering net zero is that we need solutions tailored to specific areas. Peter Gudde explores models that local authorities could adopt

15th January 2024

Read more

Heat pump installations in UK homes increased by nearly a fifth last year, with over 200,000 now having been installed across the country.

11th January 2024

Read more

Last year was the warmest ever recorded, surpassing the previous annual high set in 2016 by a large margin, scientists have confirmed today.

9th January 2024

Read more

Media enquires

Looking for an expert to speak at an event or comment on an item in the news?

Find an expert

IEMA Cookie Notice

Clicking the ‘Accept all’ button means you are accepting analytics and third-party cookies. Our website uses necessary cookies which are required in order to make our website work. In addition to these, we use analytics and third-party cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience. To control which cookies are set, click ‘Settings’. To learn more about cookies, how we use them on our website and how to change your cookie settings please view our cookie policy.

Manage cookie settings

Our use of cookies

You can learn more detailed information in our cookie policy.

Some cookies are essential, but non-essential cookies help us to improve the experience on our site by providing insights into how the site is being used. To maintain privacy management, this relies on cookie identifiers. Resetting or deleting your browser cookies will reset these preferences.

Essential cookies

These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.

Analytics cookies

These cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our website and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works.

Advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to tailor advertising to you based on your interests. If you do not accept these cookies, you will still see adverts, but these will be more generic.

Save and close