The Times and Financial Times have followed up on news from Natural England on great crested newts, the mention of them in the housing white paper and a ‘newt offsetting scheme’, to the announcement in the Financial times on Friday that ‘developers had triumphed over the great crested’ new in relation to the Habitats Directive. The government has announced a great repeal bill   – repeal = revoke, cancel – see below, with a word that seems to resonate well with the FT headline.

10th Feb: The Financial Times headline says ‘Developers set for Brexit triumph over great crested newt EU law on natural habitats faces axe to speed building plans. ‘ 

Words: We have been promised a Great Repeal Bill   [Repeal = revoke or annul (a law or act of parliament).   “the legislation was repealed five months later”

Synonyms: revokerescindcancelreverseabrogateannulnullify, declare null and void, make void, voidinvalidate, render invalid, quashabolish, set aside, countermandretractwithdrawoverruleoverride; More

In the same FT article and by why of a balancing contradiction another ‘Government spokesman’ said the ‘Government would protect the environment’

Housing White Paper & the Next offsetting scheme   In the same article the FT reported that great crested newts had been mentioned eight times (but not in a good way) in the recent housing white paper in relation to blocking/slowing development. SuDS and developers These are no doubt the same ‘developers’ whose lobbying has scuppered any effective policy on SuDS.

Newts face the bulldozer in move to get Britain building

Ben Webster, Environment Editor | Tom Knowles, Property Correspondent

February 8 2017, 12:01am, The Times

The presence of the protected great crested newt on site has long meant a headache for the developer. One housebuilder claimed to have spent more than £1m catching 150 newts on a plot in Milton Keynes. Landowners have welcomed a scheme to stop housing developments being delayed by the discovery of great crested newts.

The “newt offsetting scheme” will be introduced across the country under plans announced by the government in a housing white paper yesterday. The white paper included proposals to force councils to allocate enough land for housing but watered down a manifesto pledge by David Cameron to build 200,000 “starter homes” discounted for first-time buyers by 2020.

The newt scheme, designed to combat a significant problem for housebuilders, has been piloted in Woking, Surrey. Developers will be able to build over newt ponds if better habitat has been provided elsewhere.

The Country Land and Business Association, which represents major landowners, welcomed the scheme, saying that it would save… [to read more in the Times]

National roll-out of new approach to great crested newt licensing

Natural England   7 February 2017 Business and the environment

Natural England is to implement an innovative new approach to the conservation of great crested newts across the country. The new approach has been piloted in partnership with Woking Borough Council in Surrey. It has focused on bringing the greatest benefits to the amphibians while streamlining the licensing process for housing developers. The approach will now start to be introduced across the country after its roll-out was announced in the Department for Communities and Local Government’s Housing White Paper today.

This new 3 year programme will survey areas where newts are most prevalent, map the potential impacts of development and propose local conservation strategies for the species in partnership. As part of the project, great crested newt habitat is enhanced or created prior to any development taking place, saving developers time and money, and making newt populations more healthy and resilient.

In May 2016, Woking borough council was awarded an organisational licence, allowing it to authorise operations that may affect great crested newts on development sites at the same time as planning permission, removing the need for expensive surveys prior to building works and individual licences to disturb newts if they are present. As part of the project, great crested newt habitat is enhanced or created prior to any development taking place, saving developers time and money, and making newt populations more healthy and resilient. To read more click here

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