Great crested newt District Licensing Scheme

Great crested newt populations have declined dramatically in the UK over the last 50 years due to agricultural intensification and building development. 

Despite being protected under UK and European wildlife law, which makes it illegal to harm (or move) them or damage their habitat unless a licence is in place, their numbers are still declining. This is largely due to the loss of aquatic and terrestrial habitat, which makes habitat loss the biggest threat to the species.

Since 1900, an estimated 50% of the UK’s ponds have been lost, which has reduced the availability of suitable great crested newt habitat. Ponds are critical to great crested newts for breeding - the species is generally found within 500m of ponds, although they may travel further than this.

District Licensing

District Licensing is a simple and quick solution for developers to meet legal obligations compared with standard mitigation licensing, which requires a large amount of evidence to be submitted and often leads to delays in getting started on site. 

The licence is granted by Natural England. See the NatureSpace guidance document, which sets out how the scheme should be implemented by local authorities and the expectations for developments. 

Under District Licensing: 

• individual newt surveys are not required so there is no need to wait for the survey window in the spring 
• if great crested newts are found during development works, the licence permits moving the newts out of harm's way without having to stop works or apply for another licence 

Benefits of District Licensing

District Licensing benefits great crested newts by creating new high-quality habitats in targeted areas to increase and reconnect populations at a landscape scale. 

The scheme allows developers to make a financial contribution to strategic, off-site habitat compensation, calculated according to the impact of development, instead of applying for a separate licence or carrying out individual detailed surveys.