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GBR Press: Endangered newts to get a new home

wes_von_papineäu

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EVENING TELEGRAPH (Peterborough, UK) 07 September 09 Endangered newts to get a new home
Plans have been unveiled to build a new pond to rehome a small colony of rare newts living in a development site in Peterborough.
An application has been submitted to planning bosses at Peterborough City Council for a great crested newt mitigation pond in Orton Longueville so the reptile can be moved and a housing development go ahead.
These newts are rare and in decline, with both the reptiles and their habitats protected by law, and before work on five new homes at the former Huntly Lodge School site can begin, the pond needs to be built.
A meeting held between David Wilson Homes, planning officers, a wildlife officer and representatives from Ecological Consultants found the most appropriate option would be to move the lizards found on the site into a second pond.
Spokesman for the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, which is based in Hampton, Peterborough, Jules Howard said: "Because there are great crested newts on the land, it was important the developer was aware and didn't do anything that was going to negatively affect the newts.
"And the developer has agreed to build a new pond which will sit alongside the current one, providing a nice corridor for the newts.
"Great crested newts and other amphibians really like a network of ponds, which stops them getting isolated and encourages them to breed."
Wildlife officer for Peterborough City Council Brian Armstrong added: "Nationally, great crested newts are quite rare, but with the clay geology area of Peterborough, there are lots of suitable areas for them to live.
"When developing new homes it is important developers take nature conservation into account to ensure we don't lose all of our wildlife."
It is not the first time that Peterborough landowners have fallen foul of the newts.
Land-owner Hanson had the misfortune of finding one of Europe's single biggest colony of great crested newts inhabiting in its development site in Hampton before work began on 8,000 homes in 1996.
It cost £3 million to rehouse 30,000 newts in a nature reserve close-by.
http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/Endangered-newts-to-get-a.5621838.jp
 
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