To gauge whether great crested newts may or may not be present on a site before any building takes place, a survey is sometimes undertaken – newts are “counted” in Johnson-speak. You’ll tell me that they add thousands of pounds to the (cash-strapped) developer’s bill. Yes, great crested newts are legally protected, but the way we implement that legislation regularly changes. This is a shame because great crested newts really should be something we celebrate in Britain. The new ponds that great crested newt mitigation encourages, for instance, can be of important local value.

Source: The Guardian July 02, 2020 16:06 UTC