By North Lincolnshire to benefit from fully funded wildlife ponds
Since their appointment by Natural England three years ago, Wildscapes CIC has delivered nearly 200 ponds across North Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, and Derbyshire.
Now, a further 20 ponds will be created within North Lincolnshire this year as part of the Natural England-led District Level licensing scheme for great crested newts (GCN).
This new scheme for North Lincolnshire means that when a proposed development is likely to impact on GCN habitat, developers now have the option of a quicker and simpler alternative to the traditional GCN mitigation licence.
During the 20th century, half of the UK’s ponds were lost, primarily due to the change in land use away from mixed farming, and the remaining ponds are considered to be in a poor state. This has been identified as the key factor in the decline of GCN populations.
The District Level licensing scheme aids the development process and aims to secure the long term protection of this species and their habitat.
As the habitat delivery partner for the region, Wildscapes CIC aim to create new ponds in the most suitable locations to allow the newts to thrive.
Paul Jarman, Pond Programme Manager for Wildscapes CIC, comments: “We are delighted that the scheme is off to a great start in North Lincolnshire and that there is a need for more ponds so soon. We have received a huge amount of interest from landowners across the region offering their land to support the creation of GCN habitat and from those looking to play their part in the preservation of this protected species.”
Wildscapes CIC are now seeking more farmers and landowners in North Lincolnshire who would like to have these habitats created or restored on their land.
Wildscapes CIC will carry out all pond creation/restoration works (including adding suitable fencing if required) and all landowners are asked to do is to take a few basic measures to protect the habitat quality of the pond.
These ponds are required to be a minimum size of 150m2 and Wildscapes CIC will carry out maintenance and monitoring visits on a periodic basis over 25 years.
