GBR Press: New £60,000 home for four newts

BBC (London, UK) 14 February 08 New £60,000 home for four newts
Cheshire County Council is calling for a review of EU legislation after being forced to spend £60,000 to move four newts from a school development site.
Great crested newts are an endangered species and are protected by EU law.
When four were found on land at Fallibroome High School, Macclesfield, they had to be trapped, moved and have a new pond built to house them.
Councillor Barrie Hardern called the £60,000 cost of the scheme before the school could build "ludicrous".
When the amphibians were found on the site where the school wanted to build new sports facilities and an extension a costly mitigation exercise had to be undertaken which meant a new habitat had to be built.
Natural England, the government body charged with protecting the newts said it was important to look after every colony no matter how small.
Spokesman Jim Foster said: "In Cheshire, where this development occurred for example, in the end of the 19th Century there were about 42,000 ponds.
"But over the last century we've lost about 25,000 of those ponds, so that's the real reason why these animals need protecting because of the loss of their habitat."
But Mr Harden said: "I find it extraordinary that the law requires public money to be spent at such a ludicrous level."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/7244395.stm

As I live in Macclesfield I thought it appropriate to comment on this story which has created quite a stir locally.

Prior to construction of new school buildings/sport facilities at Fallibroome School in 2006/2007 a colony of great crested newts was discovered neighbouring the site.

The great crested newt is a strictly protected species, and fines of up to £5000 and or a period of up to six months imprisonment can be imposed for each offence committed. In addition any machinery involved in the commission of an offence may be seized as evidence. Offences include actions that result in disturbance to the species and or its habitat see www.naturalengland.org the only exceptions are actions carried out under the appropriate licence from Natural England.

In order to comply with the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and European Legislation it is often necessary for developers in the UK who discover great crested newts within 500 metres of proposed development sites to employ the services of specialist amphibian ecologists. If deemed appropriate developers may be required to submit an application for a Natural England great crested newt development licence.

No development works may start on sites known to support great crested newts until the appropriate licence has been granted by Natural England. It is for Natural England to decide if a development licence will be issued. Each application is considered on a case by case basis in-line with set criteria.

The Natural England licence application is a complex process usually undertaken on behalf of developers by experienced amphibian ecologists.

The process involves species surveys, site visits and the formulation of appropriate mitigation measures and amendments to proposed development works to minimise the likely impacts on great crested newts of any development works. The licence application also involves the preparation of a very detailed, legally binding Method Statement which must show how the great crested newt population impacted by the works will be maintained at a favourable conservation status within their natural range.


All works associated with great crested mitigation projects need to be undertaken by highly trained, experienced and licensed ecologists/amphibian workers. As with any skilled/professional workforce there is a commensurate level of cost.

In the case of Fallibroome School It was deemed appropriate by Natural England to issue a great crested newt development licence. This licence allowed the development works at the school to be undertaken lawfully.

By applying for a licence the developers have acted responsibly and in accordance with the law to protect the great crested newt population associated with the school.

If development works had commenced at Fallibroome School without the implementation of appropriate mitigation measures then great crested newts would most certainly have been killed and part of their habitat destroyed/damaged. It is likely that offences under both UK and European legislation would have been committed and substantial fines may have been imposed on the developers by the courts.

Though it has been reported that only 4 great crested newts were moved to safety from the working area, it is likely that the exclusion fencing prevented a great many more great crested newts and other animals from entering the development site, where they would most probably have been injured or killed.


It is important to understand that the current legislation relating to great crested newts was brought in following a massive decline in the population of great crested newts across Europe and the UK. Cheshire is widely recognised as one of the last strongholds of the species.

Current wildlife legislation (which is a reflection of public opinion) has been directly responsible for ensuring that Local Planning Authorities and developers consider the impacts that proposed developments may have on protected species and their habitats.

Legislation has resulted in best practice being adopted by developers in respect of great crested newt mitigation schemes. This has resulted in a substantial reduction in the rate of species decline within the UK.

In the past, developments often went ahead with little or no regard to wildlife or their habitats (you only have to think about the ponds you used to visit in your youth). Unsurprisingly past neglect has led us to the current situation with many animal species both in the UK and worldwide already pushed into extinction and many other species including the great crested newt considered to be at risk.

Earlier this week David Attenborough’s ‘Life in cold blood’ on BBC highlighted the Golden Frog; until a few years ago the frog was so common/abundant that locals had to be careful not to tread on them when out walking! In 2007 the last remaining Golden Frogs were captured and taken into captivity in an attempt to prevent the species becoming extinct. The species now survives entirely in captivity. Is that what we want for the great crested newt? Surely not.

It is considered by scientists and experts worldwide that in recent years amphibians have suffered the largest population reductions of all known species. It has been concluded that without urgent/immediate action well over half of all frog, toad and newt species will become extinct in the wild by 2050, due entirely to the impact of human activities on their habitats.

The reported cost of £60,000 to save 4 newts makes a good headline for a local politician with a point to make but sadly it does not reflect the amount of highly specialist work that is involved in such projects. Nor does it reflect the benefit that protecting the great crested newt has for a huge number of other species that share the same habitat.

The headline figure takes no account of the number of newts and other animals that would have been prevented from reaching the working area, where it is likely they would have been injured or killed, nor does it mention the habitat enhancement works (new pond) or ongoing monitoring of the great crested newt population and their habitat to ensure that the project has been successful.

Cost and value for money is relative and will always be open to debate;

• If the money had not been spent on protecting the newts there is currently no system for allocating the money to other conservation projects.

• To spend the money ‘elsewhere’ as the councillor suggested may sound reasonable but where exactly is ‘elsewhere’ and who decides?

• Does spending the money ‘elsewhere’ mean that the great crested newts at Fallibroome School should have been ignored resulting in their death?

• If the same amount of money had been allocated for conservation purposes there would be a strong case for spending the money on protecting an existing colony of newts i.e. the newts at Fallibroome!!!

Money budgeted for conservation purposes as part of any development project would never be re- allocated to buy books or fund 1.5 teachers for a year as suggested in the BBC news report nor would it be used to fund NHS operations or build new roads as is often suggested.

• Do MPs claiming tens of thousands of pounds a year in housing expenses or the cost of the Millennium Dome represent better value for public money than protecting a native UK species and ensuring its survival?

The Councillor objecting to money being spent on protecting great crested newts might want to reflect that; once extinct a species is lost forever. Sadly, once lost no amount of crocodile tears, regret, apologies, hand wringing or money will ever bring them back.

Given that I directly contributed (albeit in a small way via my taxes) to saving the great crested newt colony at Fallibroome School. I consider that my tax money was very well spent!

I believe that the majority of Macclesfield residents will agree with me and will take great pride in the fact that Cheshire is internationally recognised as the custodian of one of the last strongholds of great crested newts in the UK and Europe.

James Grundy

Caudata.org Paperboy Editorial

If the Forum would indulge me, I’d like to editorialize for a moment if I may.

My modest postings of press items may be of some small interest to some of you; they offer an opportunity to see what is the press perception of our chosen critters both in their wild habitat and as pets/companion animals/hobbies etc. However, ‘column space’ restrictions within a newspaper combine with the possibly modest interest of the journalist/newspaper owner to result in newt (and salamander)-related press items getting only the smallest bit of exposure.

The true value of a press item comes with what Mr. Grundy has done with this one: Local comment by an informed herpetologist/herpetoculturist! We not only get a plethora of background information that the press item did not have, but there is included an educated assessment for what the event could mean for those interested in Caudates. Finally, we get the whole picture!

If I may be so bold, I would encourage you all to take a few minutes to type short notes to the forum about any caudata-related press event that is happening in ‘your back pond’ … come to think of it, it doesn’t even have to be a press event. Please fill us in on the details that are not included in the original press piece … and most importantly, how do you think this will affect our favourite critters in your area … and what, if anything, can you/we do about it.

For those of you with second-language skills, on you I place a special geis. From time-to-time I’ll offer-up press items in languages other than English. If you are fortunate to speak the language of the press item, a very short synopsis of the piece would be appreciated … and your own assessment as to its implication for your country/region would be very valuable to allow the rest of us to put the press item in context to what is happening in that particular country. We can of course, cut-and-paste a press piece into the web-based translation program of our choice, but some language-translation combinations have yet to be offered on the I-net. And even then … as handy as the translation programs are … from time-to-time you end up with the line that “scrapper-cleaners ate a scientists’ rubber boots” … or words to that effect.

Mr. Grundy’s generous effort below well demonstrates how to turn nine lines on page four of one’s local paper into something very relevant to our community interests. Thanks so much for taking the time and effort to research … and then type all of that.

Respects;
Wes

GBR Press: Council protests expensive newt move

METRO (London, UK) 15 February 08 Council protests expensive newt move
Legislation protecting endangered newts is to be challenged after Cheshire County Council spent £60,000 moving four of the creatures.
County officials are writing to the Government and EU chiefs to challenge the rules governing how the animals are treated.
Councillor Barrie Hardern, who has written to Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said the great crested newts had to be given a new habitat as a part of a planning application for building work at Fallibroome High School in Macclesfield.
He said: 'Around £15,000 per newt seems a ludicrous sum of money to me.
'They are a legally protected species under EU regulations because there are parts of Europe where they are quite rare.
'However in Cheshire we have in the order of 16,000 ponds and newts are widespread and locally abundant.
The former county council chairman added: 'The EU regulations together with UK legislation carry substantial fines if we do not protect the newts as part of planning applications.
'I am very concerned about taxpayers' money being used in this way in what appears to be a ridiculous situation.'
Great crested newts are Britain's largest newt species, able to live for 27 years and grow up to 17cm long.
Cheshire Council's member for the environment, Andrew Needham, said: 'We do wonder if such sums of money would be better spent investing in improvements to the wider pond network, which would benefit not only great crested newts but all types of wetland wildlife.'
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=99230&in_page_id=2

good read, thanks wes and james