It’s taken a minute, but Hertfordshire has finally joined the Great Crested Newt (GCN) Triturus cristatus District Level License scheme, under the Natural England run version.
This now means that GCN survey effort will be reduced and developments in the White, Green and Amber zones can join the scheme, if your site unfortunately sits in a Red zone a traditional survey will still apply.
What is the District Level License (DLL)?
The DLL is a scheme being run out across the country which allows for GCN to be considered via the planning route. It essentially eliminates the need for costly traditional surveys, along with delays associated with the ecology of GCN.
The county has been divided up into zones (depending on the location of ponds, eDNA survey effort and previous records of GCN). In the Natural England scheme the white, green and amber zones mean you can join the scheme and in the Nature Space scheme all zones are covered.
The idea is that you pay a sum of monies (this is different for most sites, see below) to the scheme and in return the site is covered under the license scheme allowing for GCN to be considered, moved from site and mitigation undertaken on your behalf elsewhere. This of course comes with some requirements, such as having an ecologist on site to provide a talk on GCN, search for them and move them in some instances.
What Does it Cost?
The scheme is different depending on whether you are in a Natural England or the Nature Space scheme.
Natural England will charge a £580 + VAT enquiry fee, a conservation payment and a license fee of £690 (this are subject to change of course).
Nature Space charge differently, a homeowner application is a flat fee of currently £500, the next step up is a flat fee of £2000, followed by the next stage of a two-stage payment of £5000 and a proportionate conservation payment and finally a higher tier two stage payment scheme of £10,000 plus a proportionate conservation payment. Again, all are subject to change (prices correct at the time of writing 05/03/2024).
Once you decide to join the scheme a set of conditions are imposed either via planning conditions or the license itself.
These must be followed once issued and works can generally be undertaken during the suitable newt active season.
Need help with great crested newt, biodiversity net gain or ecology in general?
Get in touch with use here https://www.cherryfieldecology.co.uk/
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