South Oxfordshire District Council and Vale of the White Horse District Council have been presented with an award for their ongoing commitment to protecting the habitats of great crested newts.
The two councils have won the Consistency Award in the 2022 NatureSpace Awards – one of only three award winners nationally from more than 50 participating local authorities in England.
South Oxfordshire District Council and Vale of the White Horse District Council have held a NatureSpace District Licence since 2018, which offers a simple and streamlined solution for dealing with development impacts on great crested newts and greatly improves the conservation outcomes for the species.
To date, over 40 development projects have been authorised to use South Oxfordshire District Councils and Vale of the White Horse District Council’s District Licence.
“I was delighted to be able to visit a new pond created by NatureSpace Partnership and to accept the award showing the councils’ commitment to conserving great crested newts – creating and enhancing their habitats across the district.
Cllr Bethia Thomas, Vale of White Horse District Council Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member Community Engagement
“Using this innovative licensing scheme, we are changing the way our planning team thinks about conservation of this species. By securing funds from developers to ensure high-quality habitats are created in the best locations, we are helping to protect this declining species.”
“The scheme speeds up the planning process and allows the councils to issue planning permission more quickly. This means much needed and agreed development can go ahead at the same time as conserving and then increasing numbers of this protected species over the long-term.”
Cllr Anne-Marie Simpson, South Oxfordshire District Council, cabinet member for planning
The great crested newt population has declined dramatically in the UK over the last 50 years. Despite protection under UK and European wildlife law, numbers are still declining, and habitat loss is their biggest threat.
The NatureSpace Scheme, approved by Natural England, speeds up development delivery by providing an alternative way of working under a GCN licence, with no need to wait for the short seasonal survey window. Applicants using the scheme through the council pay monies which are used to create high-quality aquatic and terrestrial habitat for the species within the region.
To mark the award, representatives from Vale of the White Horse District Council, NatureSpace and the Newt Conservation Partnership gathered at a compensation site in Oxfordshire to see the habitat creation that has been created for great crested newts in the area.
“Our NatureSpace Awards commemorate the very best councils from across the UK who have embedded the District Licencing Scheme within their planning authority area.
Dr Tom Tew, Chief Executive of NatureSpace
“One fantastic example of this is from South Oxfordshire District Council and Vale of the White Horse District Council who consistently use the scheme to highlight where planning applicants should be providing more information to deal with impacts on great crested newts. This includes working with the Planning Inspectorate on appeal where development is likely to impact great crested newts and their habitats.
“A big congratulations to South Oxfordshire District Council and Vale of the White Horse Council for all their hard work and dedication in protecting the local environment.”
To date, NatureSpace and the Newt Conservation Partnership have created or restored 22 ponds, made available more than 119 hectares of terrestrial habitat for great crested newts and spent more than £200,000 on newt conservation in the two districts. Since 2018, the District Licence Scheme has raised more than £1.5 million for great crested newt conservation across all the operational areas of the scheme in England, including creating or restoring more than 170 ponds.
The scheme creates excellent quality habitats across the landscape, providing net gain not only for great crested newts but also a wide range of other biodiversity.
To find out more about the NatureSpace scheme click here.
