Great crested newt surveys and mitigation

Thomson Ecology are highly experienced in great crested newt survey and great crested newt mitigation. If you suspect that you may have great crested newts on your site it is important that you involve ecologists as early as possible in order to avoid costly delays to your project.

Great crested newt: Ecology and Conservation status

Great crested newts (Triturus cristatus) spend the majority of their lives on land, but migrate to water in the spring in order to breed. Great crested newts usually lay their eggs from mid March to mid May. The larvae remain in the ponds until metamorphosis is complete– a period of 2-3 months. They newts then spend 2-4 years on land until they reach sexual maturity and return to the water to breed.
Great crested newt numbers have declined throughout Europe due to habitat loss and pollution, but they remain widely distributed in Great Britain.

Great crested newt: Protection and Legislation

Great crested newts and great crested newt habitat are fully protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Habitats Regulations. Both the great crested newt aquatic habitat (typically large ponds) and great crested newt terrestrial habitat are protected from damage and destruction.
The great crested newt is a priority species under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan and has been adopted as a Species of Principal Importance in England under section 41 of the NERC Act 2006, Wales under section 42 and in Scotland under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act.

Great crested newt licences and great crested newt surveys

A great crested newt licence is required whenever disturbance of great crested newts or damage to great crested newt habitat is likely to occur.
In practice, this means that great crested newt surveys can only be carried out by a licensed ecological consultant. If great crested newt mitigation is required, a second licence application will be needed, accompanied by a detailed method statement setting out the activity to be carried out under the licence. The great crested newt licence will only be granted for reasons of overriding public interest and it must be shown that the favourable conservation status of the great crested newt is maintained and that there is no satisfactory alternative to the proposed development.

Great crested newt mitigation

Great crested newt mitigation can be lengthy and costly. The time taken to obtain a great crested newt licence and then trapping the great crested newts during their active period, is likely to mean a wait of several months to possibly more than a year before great crested newt mitigation is completed.
Ideally, key features within the development site that provide a habitat for the great crested newt should be retained eg, ponds, woodland, scrub, coarse grassland and hedgerows. This will not only provide the great crested newts with a habitat following the development but will also reduce the number of great crested newts that need to be captured. It should therefore reduce the time taken to remove the great crested newts from the development area.
In terrestrial habitats, great crested newts are caught using a system of amphibian fencing and pitfall traps. Captured great crested newts need to be accommodated in a suitable receptor site– ideally on-site but alternatively as close to the development site as possible.