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Developer oloseso GCN hibernaculum!

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susan View Drop Down
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    Posted: 16 Oct 2004 at 2:25pm

Great Crested Newts had lived on ours and our immediate neighbours land for many years.

However 5 years ago our neighbours sold what remained of their farm, comprising  a large house, a disused farm yard,a very large pond, a section of moat and 30 acres of land (some rented out for corn and some, that nearest the pond, left to nature with the very occasional grass cut).

 The buyer was a property developer. One of the first actions was to drain the pond which was used by the newts. This took several days but at the very first indication of what was happening we contacted English Nature. They were unhelpful and disbelieving of the existance of the newts. They probably thought we were trying to slow down or stop the development. The pond was almost completly drained with the knowledge of EN and police wildlife protection. The time was mid October and we were told even if there were newts they would be hibernating.

The problem was we had never had any reason, or realised the importance, of alerting the authorities of the presence GCNs.

Destruction of habitat continued. Heavy earth moving equipment was in frequent use as the house was redeveloped. The moat, also used by the newts, was within 2 metres of illicit development of a 'cartshed'. Consent was only obtained in retrospect so no protection was given to the newts during the work. The conversion of the house had no requirement of any protection either as, at that time, we were still not being believed in our claims.

Eventually, many months later, a survey was done and this proved the GCN to be present.

Before the next phase of development which was developing the farmyard, newt fences were erected and the newts moved. This was carried out by a very reputable organisation of consultants, but they could not be there all the time to ensure the fences remained in tact! Also we understood from English Nature that one of the developers had been given a license to move newts!  The consultants made a hibernaculum. This is about two years ago.

Another retrospective planning application has recently been submitted, for a house. The house is already built but the landscaping is yet to take place. On the application a newt area has been shown which looked remote from the area where the hibernaculum was created. I queried this with English Nature  who told me that the location of the original hibernaculum is not known so a new one will be created.

I am at a loss to understand what sort of protection this is. Surely any hibernaculums, or similar should be recorded, and not allowed to be 'lost'. As things stand, when a developer finds such habitat in his way, he only has to claim it is 'lost' and so has none of the inconveniance and expense of trying to move the newts.

The newts, encouraged to a hibernaculum a couple of years ago and likely to have returned again this winter, may be bulldozed with no one seemingly bothered. English Nature told me that a consultant is involved (not the ones mentioned earlier) and he is happy.

Another point that baffles me is why some consultants require newt fencing and some dont'? The first consultants, as mentioned, erected newt fences. The consultant overseeing the clearance of a barn that collaped in march and the subsequent illicit building of a house on the site would appear not to have required it despite the fact that the development started during the time the newts emergeged from hibernation and is still continuing now (october).

If this is being repeated all over the countryside it does not bode well for the future.

 

 

.

 

 

Sue
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calumma View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote calumma Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2004 at 5:25pm
Sue,

Thanks for posting this. Distressing to hear but hopefully your experiences can help guide policy decisions on further developments. Are you able to provide details of the county where you live?

No time to answer your specific questions right now, but different consultants have differing working practices. Experience and competence also varies between companies. Remember if a developer is paying for mitigation work, they want a company that will do the work as quickly and cheaply as possible. A consultant who upholds best practice may find that they are not hired again if they delay their client too much. Unfortunately without adequate support from EN, the more reputable consultants often find it difficult to maintain standards.

Lee

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Lee Brady

Kent Herpetofauna Recorder | Independent Ecological Consultant



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Robert V View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Robert V Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2004 at 8:39pm

Lee,

Why is it that English Nature can continue to fail to protect species and local populations and still be regarded as a viable organisation? There seems to be so many of these 'letting us down' examples and yet nothing is done to highlight their inadequacies. has anyone got a good word to say about them? I certainly haven't.

RobV
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote calumma Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2004 at 10:11pm
Robert,

Like any organisation EN is only as good as the people who work there. There are many extremely good people who work at EN. I have an excellent working relationship with several local teams and greatly value the dedication and expertise of the staff with whom I liaise. Are you aware of the tremendous amount of work that the London team have put into coordinating the development of a Species Action Plan for reptiles? Not only that but money has been sourced to implement several of the proposed actions. Some of the regular contributors to this forum are involved in the adder survey work that contributes to this SAP.

However, EN staff are extremely over-stretched and some local teams can find it difficult when responding to so many protected species issues. If local planning authorities did their job properly and refused to grant planning permission before full survey work had been undertaken (with an appropriate method statement prepared by a *competant* consultant), EN would not be forced to fire-fight so many issues. Remember that consultants also have an important role to play in ensuring that they communicate effectively - not only with their clients etc, but also with concerned members of the public.

If a local team has failed to respond in an appropriate manner to a protected species issue, I do think that the reasons for that failure need to be addressed. In particular EN need to offer advice that adheres to their own published guidelines and support consultants who are trying to do the work in a way that has a meaningful conservation outcome. However, I also think that we need to offer constructive and meaningful support to EN that will help them to deliver their conservation obligations.

With regard to the development issue that started this thread, it would appear that the fundamental problem was that nobody who mattered were told that gcn were present on site until it was too late. The local authority did not (apparently) insist on a protected species survey, despite the site supporting several (?) ponds. Once planning permission has been granted, that's it. It is extremely difficult to make developers implement meaningful mitigation proposals once they have plant on site. How useful is it for EN to spend huge amounts of their time dealing with these cases? I guarantee that they are likely to have a massive amount of casework and other conservation issues to deal with that could well be far more important.

The moral of the story has to be, submit the records and notify the local planning authority on the presence of protected species before planning permission is decided.
Lee Brady

Kent Herpetofauna Recorder | Independent Ecological Consultant



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote administrator Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Oct 2004 at 10:48am

Sue, having received by email that your in Essex (replying to a forum generated email doesn't display the message to the forum), I can only say having moved to the county this year yours is not an isolated case. We have a local pond now surrounded by a retail park. No mitigation, no DERFA license, no previous survey and GCN actively using the pond. In my opinion no excuses about who is to blame, every department involved has failed. When I first came across the site there were open foundations within 10 metres of an active GCN pond and no sign of an exclusion fence.

Lee, when is it too late, if the newts are present they are present and protected under European legislation. The developers have an obligation to ensure newts are not present on the site before they start work. Why should it be a case that the public are left to inform EN of GCN? If the system worked local councils would ensure that developers commissioned ecological surveys and mitigation as a condition of the planning consent when ponds are present.

I'm glad to say that Essex Amphibian and Reptile Group (EARG) have become actively involved in persuing this case, if Jon C doesn't see this thread I'll give you his contact details Sue. The only thing that can be done in my view is to highlight each time a local council fails to take protected species seriously and watch them very closely in future.



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote calumma Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Oct 2004 at 10:57am
Oh Essex.... I think you will be hearing from Jon ;-)

Gemma, I agree that it should not be left to the public to inform EN about the presence of European protected species. The fault lies squarely with the local planning authority who are clearly not doing their job properly. The problem is, with so many LAs not considering protected species considerations, it is left to EN to fire-fight. Unfortunately, EN do not have the resources to deal with the situation in an adequate fashion and people feel frustrated and let down.

New government guidelines (currently in draft - will post a link if folk are interested) are designed to overcome some of these shortfalls. Of course LAs do have to actually implement them....

Lee

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote administrator Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Oct 2004 at 11:10am

Lee, surely it should fall to EN to 'jump on' local authorities very heavily when they cause the system to fail? Then perhaps EN wouldn't be fighting so many fires? Or is it once again a case that the legislation simply is not robust enough?

I would certainly like to see the new guidelines.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote susan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Oct 2004 at 11:13am

Thanks for all the comments and interest.

I think English Nature must listen more to the public when they are given information.

Consultation and mitigation matters should not involve the developer/applicant at all, except to foot the bill. The consultant, and his brief, should be decided by a suitable authority, ie one that puts the welfare of the creature (or plant, etc) as first priority. The fees should be agreed and payment sought from the applicant before any work is allowed to start

However this would not work where development takes place without consent, as has happened twice here. There must be some protection in such cases. Even if  penalised after, this does not save what is lost.  

Sue

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote calumma Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Oct 2004 at 11:43am
Gemma, if only they would..! However, the reality of the situation is that they are unable to enforce it. Protected species officers will write letters advising planners of their responsibilities, but who is there to force LAs to follow the advice provided? The degree of input that EN have is also entirely dependent upon the local officer involved. Essex would appear to be a county that has several of these issues...

Susan, you are quite right in all of your points. Bottom line is that LAs need a kick in the pants. With respect to 'your' specific development, EN and LA are unlikely to be interested in giving the matter much more attention because consultants are now onboard. Whether the consultants do a good enough job or not is another matter of course. My advice would be to write an opinion piece in the local paper. However, do make is constructive and not just a rant (not saying you would of course). You may want to ask the Essex group to help you prepare the letter, that way you know that all the legal issues etc are correct. Also do take photos of the work in progress and keep a diary of what goes on. The information may be useful if the matter is taken further.
Lee Brady

Kent Herpetofauna Recorder | Independent Ecological Consultant



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Robert V Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Oct 2004 at 4:30pm

 

I would like to see the new guidelines, if poss. I've got a meeting in early january (couldn't arange it any sooner) with a photographer/ journalist from 'Essex Life' magazine. I promise I'll try not to rant!! haha.

RobV
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