wes_von_papineäu
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OXFORD MAIL (UK) 18 September 07 Newts neuter poultry plan (David Horne)
A man who wants to rear chickens is having his planning application held up by a colony of Great Crested Newts.
The amphibians are a rare, protected species and have to be taken into account when someone wants to build something near where they live.
But smallholder Robert Power says their habitat in a pond across the busy B4022 road in west Oxfordshire between Witney and Charlbury is in no way threatened by his plans for a chicken shed at Heath House Nursery in Finstock.
"It is laughable," he said. "I have had to withdraw my application till I get a Great Crested Newt certificate.
"All I want to do is keep some chickens.
"But, if you live within 500 metres of these little things, you have to get a special licence.
"The world's going mad.
"I could understand it if you want to build a road or a housing estate. But this is excessive zeal. And, anyway, they are not that rare round here."
The 60ft by 15ft pond is on the land of neighbouring farmer Kevin Hall and he agrees with Mr Power.
He said: "From what I'm told there's Great Crested Newts all over Finstock and Ramsden.
"Thames Water people come up here every so often to see how they're getting on. They catch a dozen or so, put them back in, make a few notes, and then come back again six months later.
"It's all a lot of fuss, so far as I can see."
West Oxfordshire District Council has to consult with Natural England, formerly English Nature, the Government body that protects wildlife and biodiversity, before it can adjudicate.
Mr Power, whose business at the moment is growing and selling plants but who wants to rear chickens for sale, has withdrawn his application to apply for a special certificate from them.
Even if he gets it, however, he faces objections from neighbours about smell and noise, and a new building being constructed in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
http://www.oxfordmail.net/display.var.1697415.0.newts_neuter_poulty_plan.php
A man who wants to rear chickens is having his planning application held up by a colony of Great Crested Newts.
The amphibians are a rare, protected species and have to be taken into account when someone wants to build something near where they live.
But smallholder Robert Power says their habitat in a pond across the busy B4022 road in west Oxfordshire between Witney and Charlbury is in no way threatened by his plans for a chicken shed at Heath House Nursery in Finstock.
"It is laughable," he said. "I have had to withdraw my application till I get a Great Crested Newt certificate.
"All I want to do is keep some chickens.
"But, if you live within 500 metres of these little things, you have to get a special licence.
"The world's going mad.
"I could understand it if you want to build a road or a housing estate. But this is excessive zeal. And, anyway, they are not that rare round here."
The 60ft by 15ft pond is on the land of neighbouring farmer Kevin Hall and he agrees with Mr Power.
He said: "From what I'm told there's Great Crested Newts all over Finstock and Ramsden.
"Thames Water people come up here every so often to see how they're getting on. They catch a dozen or so, put them back in, make a few notes, and then come back again six months later.
"It's all a lot of fuss, so far as I can see."
West Oxfordshire District Council has to consult with Natural England, formerly English Nature, the Government body that protects wildlife and biodiversity, before it can adjudicate.
Mr Power, whose business at the moment is growing and selling plants but who wants to rear chickens for sale, has withdrawn his application to apply for a special certificate from them.
Even if he gets it, however, he faces objections from neighbours about smell and noise, and a new building being constructed in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
http://www.oxfordmail.net/display.var.1697415.0.newts_neuter_poulty_plan.php