We were very pleased that a recent ENDs Report article featured our partnership with Network Rail, recognising the railway ‘Organisational Licence’ as a ‘step forward’ in newt licensing. Network Rail estimated that working directly with NatureSpace reduced licensing timescales by 90%. 

The Organisational Licence operates similarly to the District Licence but it licences Network Rail directly rather than through a local planning authority. The initial pilot scheme covered the London to Corby electrification project in 2021 and successfully demonstrated proof of concept. The licence expanded enormously to cover the entire Eastern Region this year, although the process was a lot more arduous – including a multitude of surveys, very complicated species distribution models, and a 300-page application form for licence approval.  Now that the Organisational Licence has been granted to Network Rail, we must of course demonstrate improvement in great crested newt conservation status.  

The Organisational Licence came into force in June 2022 and already more than 11 hectares of permanent habitat has been created for great crested newts and Network Rail is seeing the operational benefit of having the licence in operation. Both partners and are now working to expand the licence to cover further areas, including Network Rail’s Southern, Western and Northwestern Central regions. 

Tom also reminded ENDS Report readers of the importance of very high-quality habitat creation and management – “You can’t just dig a pond anywhere, you have to make sure you put the right pond in the right place, and then make sure that you pay whoever’s managing that pond to do it properly year after year.”