The government’s Joint Nature Conservation Committee reports that the UK has many great crested newts - 400,000 in 18,000 breeding sites. They are found across almost all of England and Wales, and in some parts of Scotland. They are also found throughout northern Europe, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists them as being of “least concern”.
Despite having so many great crested newts, the UK defines them as a “rare and most threatened species” under Section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (2006). It is an offence to kill, injure, disturb or capture newts; take or destroy their eggs; damage or destroy their breeding sites and resting places - even if they are not present; or to possess, control or transport them, dead or alive. It is also an offence to disturb them when they are sheltering, and to obstruct access to shelters.
This is a problem for anyone wanting to build a house or a factory or, well, anything really.
English Nature provides a 77 page advice guide for developers. Before applying for planning permission, developers must hire a licenced ecologist to assess the newt population using (at least) one of six methods. Each is described in detail - such as a torch’s required candlepower (most newt searches have to be done after dark). Newt surveys must take place at certain times of the year, so a planning application can be delayed for months. An ecologist is needed - the government recommends this 37 point checklist when hiring one. If newts are found, development is only allowed if no available alternative site is available. If allowed, the developer will need to mitigate the damage. This requires a licence from Defra which will only be granted if there is an “imperative reason of overriding public interest” for the development. The licence application has over 125 questions, and costs a minimum of £500 - with no upper limit. Mitigation may involve having to set aside part of the site for newts, or purchasing additional land for them. The guidance says that “some mitigation plans may impose a lead-in time of several months to a year before ground clearance or construction works can commence.”
And we wonder why nothing gets built, and why everything costs so much!
A few councils use a lighter touch regime called “district licensing”. Even then, however, the developer always has to submit a great crested newt risk assessment. In addition, if the land is coloured blue on this map, they must also set out measures to safeguard against significant risks to newts.
Labour says it is on the side of the builders. There are two approaches to solve this problem…