News

Good communication with our clients is very important to us and these pages will be updated on a regular basis to provide updates on various topical issues.

Increased Legal Protection for European  Protected Species

Great crested newt, sand lizard and smooth snake will benefit from increased legal protection from August 2007. The removal of defences from the Habitats Regulations will mean that there will be need for greater consideration as to whether the risk of harm to protected species from activities such as development can be avoided.

A press release has been issued by DEFRA, with more information on European Protected Species also available from Natural England.

Developer Prosecuted for Disturbing Newts

A building company has been prosecuted for damaging habitat used by great crested newts. The magistrates' concluded that:

"We consider this was intentional rather than wreckless. There was acceptable evidence of great crested newts on that site and that [the developer] worked to damage the environment over a period of time."

More information on this story is available from Melton Today.

A New Name for English Nature

Natural England has been formed by bringing together English Nature, the landscape, access and recreation elements of the Countryside Agency and the environmental land management functions of the Rural Development Service.

More information on Natural England is available from its new website.

Great Crested Newt Monitoring Project

Over the past two years, Calumma Ecological Services has been working with volunteers from the Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group and Kent Pond Wardens to help survey a large number of ponds across the county. Calumma Ecological Services helped to train volunteers in amphibian survey methods and was also responsible for analysing all survey results. A report summarising the project can now be downloaded.

Planning Policy Statement 9 (PPS9) Published

PPS9 supercedes the former PPG9 and requires that local planning authorities take into account the presence of biodiversity and geological interest and assess proposed mitigation before granting planning permission. If a planning application fails to adequately address mitigation needs or detail appropriate compensation, PPS9 directs local planning authorities to refuse planning permission.

More information is available here.

Older News Items

Older news items that may still be of interest are available here.