An almost balanced article about Newts and Planning

[ToughButterCup]

Set within the Brexit narrative, the author of this article argues that the humble GCN  (Great Crested Newt) is a good way of looking at   UK Planning  issues.

 

I draw your attention to the article because it's not as Ya Boo Sucks as many about the GCN. The article is light on the planning context: it makes no attempt to square the circle - how do you build more houses and not put pressure on the local ecology (GCN or otherwise) ?  

 

My principal beef with the article is the reference to an ICUN Database entry and failing to draw attention to the following entry in the record on GCNs. The GCN is of least concern

 

' ... Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, tolerance of a degree of habitat modification, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category. Some subpopulations are threatened...'

 

(Accessed 2st March 2018)

 

The CGN is of '...  least concern ... ' : I know that very well indeed. The damn (beautiful) things stomp across our living room carpet whenever it's warm enough - across our kitchen floor only to get growled at by our brave tomcat, and get squashed on the road outside our house every time there's heavy rain overnight.

 

The GCN as political football. 

[joe90]

Yup, a bit like bats,? 

[MikeSharp01]

32 minutes ago, recoveringacademic said:

The GCN as political football.

For me the question has always been why was anybody minded to make this a political football, how did it get onto the list of things you (one) needs to build around?

[ToughButterCup]

Because it's a protected species, @MikeSharp01

Here's the guidance (Accessed March 2018)

 

And here are the words

' ...You must consider how a development might affect protected species on or near a proposed development site when reviewing a planning application....'

 

The irritant for me is that the GCN is really very common: it says so on the official database (see OP) . And demands very significant levels of expenditure . I personally don't mind making allowances for GCNs; we've done a huge amount more than the law requires  to accommodate and further encourage them. 

But in policy terms, I think the time has come now to use RAMS statements rather than simple exclusion as standard. 

 

[MikeSharp01]

7 hours ago, recoveringacademic said:

Because it's a protected species

Naturaly it is, to reinforce my point I was wondering why, if they are as common as muck, are they protected. There could be a myriad reasons perhaps these hoards are the very last on the planet having migrated to your living room ftom the four corners of the earth. 

[SteamyTea]

The GCN is common in the UK, but not the rest of the EU.

Now you can argue that this shows that the EU is a really bad thing, but you have to start somewhere and shows that we should have engaged with the process more rather than sulked in the corner.

We don't argue about the Iberian Lynx holding up developments in the UK, but I bet it happens in Spain.

One of the other problems with planning is that it is city-centric, it really does like to consider countryside as a museum that has to be protected.

Next time you are out in the countryside, count up the number of separate farmers fields that you can see.  Then imagine that each one had one house built in the corner.

 

I also think that if we stopped building in floodplains we may also reduce the GCN problem.  Build on dry land.

Edited March 22, 2018 by SteamyTea

[curlewhouse]

Interestingly enough the "museum" aspect of the countryside is one I actually had to remind our national park planners of at one point during our fight, er, I mean "the planning process" with them. When they queried if we were having electricity and telephone (they were worried about "wire clutter") & I actually said that although we want it kept looking nice and traditional probably more than even they do,  "the village is not a museum" . 

Edited April 14, 2018 by curlewhouse

[Dreadnaught]

A new (easier?) way of detecting Great Crested Newts in a pond on a building site.

 

Podcast. Costing the Earth: The e-DNA Revolution …
"A modern technique is revolutionising how we monitor our living world. Jheni Osman asks how 'environmental DNA' works and discovers the sheer breadth of what it's revealing."

 

Listen to the relevant section here → https://overcast.fm/+IPRWK3mfg/9:04

The BBC site for the podcast → https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008wpt

 

[SteamyTea]

8 hours ago, Dreadnaught said:

Podcast. Costing the Earth: The e-DNA Revolution …

And Nessie is an eel that appears after drinking.

[Ferdinand]

On 22/03/2018 at 07:24, SteamyTea said:

The GCN is common in the UK, but not the rest of the EU.

Now you can argue that this shows that the EU is a really bad thing, but you have to start somewhere and shows that we should have engaged with the process more rather than sulked in the corner.

We don't argue about the Iberian Lynx holding up developments in the UK, but I bet it happens in Spain.

One of the other problems with planning is that it is city-centric, it really does like to consider countryside as a museum that has to be protected.

Next time you are out in the countryside, count up the number of separate farmers fields that you can see.  Then imagine that each one had one house built in the corner.

 

I also think that if we stopped building in floodplains we may also reduce the GCN problem.  Build on dry land.

 

The most prominent Countryside Museum case I have seen recently was probably that chap who owned the slate mine in the Lake District and had various projects stopped ... was there not a Zip Line and also a Via Ferrata, then he was killed in his helicopter one day.

 

I do not think the Iberian Lynx will stop that many developments, as there are about as many in existence as Scottish Wildcats, and I am not aware of any BH questions about those.

 

And I am not clear how well we engaged with the Bat Protection etc stuff at EU level. I think the legislation was eary 80s then early 90s. Not sure if there is different enforcement here than say France.

F

Edited October 7, 2019 by Ferdinand