County signs up to fund to help save the newts
CASH from housebuilders will be used to create new ponds to save newts.
Populations of great crested newts have been on the decline for the past six decades, despite their being a protected species throughout the UK and the rest of Europe.
The old method of protecting the creatures was to make developers carry out expensive surveys to find the newts, then move them off the building sites, leaving them to find a new home.
The reptiles often ended up in ponds on the new neighbourhoods that became polluted.
A change in the law has led to a new Natural England scheme where instead of paying for surveys and lots of anti-newt fences to keep the reptiles away, the developer buys a licence and 85 per cent of the money goes into a fund.
That fund is then used to create ponds that newts will thrive in, while the developer will be given advice on how to avoid doing too much damage to any newts that are in the area that is to become a building site. The scheme is up and running around the country and now Leicestershire has also signed up.
The cash will be used by Natural England and EMEC Ecology in partnership with local landowners to create ponds designed specifically for the yellow-bellied newt, which exists in parts of west Leicestershire.
The reptiles prefer ponds with no human visitors and no fish, as well as no sources of pollution.
Under the scheme, called District Level Licensing, the money paid out by the developers will fund the creation of the ponds and the cost of taking care of them for the first 25 years of their life.
Sarah Spotswood, of EMEC Ecology, said: “We have created and restored 13 ponds for the scheme so far, and plan to deliver a further 40 ponds over the coming months.
“We are excited to be working with local landowners to build a network of high quality, well-connected habitat, providing the opportunity for great crested newt populations to expand and thrive in the area, as well as providing valuable habitat for a variety of other wildlife.”
She said the scheme also benefits people and authorities by avoiding costly delays and licensing uncertainty for developers, helping to ensure homes are built and councils can deliver on their plans.
Natural England is the government’s advisor on the environment.