Newt Surveys
Great Crested Newt (GCN) Surveys
Why might I need a GCN survey?
Great crested newts (GCN) and their habitats are fully protected under UK law. So, if your site or the surrounding area contains potential breeding sites, then you may need a newt survey before site works can begin.
The easiest way to gain expert advice is to get in touch – we’re always happy to discuss your site and provide free advice without obligation.
What types of newts exist in the UK?
There are three native species of newt in the UK: smooth or common newt, palmate newt and great crested newt. Smooth and palmate newts are typically 10cm in length, are often brown to dark green in colour and can be difficult to tell apart.
Great crested newts are much bigger, up to 17cm in length, and black in colour with a warty appearance to the skin. The males develop a jagged crest along the back and tail during the breeding season. Breeding male smooth newts also develop a crest and they are often mistaken for great crested newts. Recently, introduced species have appeared in the UK with the Alpine newt being the most common. These are a similar size to the smooth newt but are darker in colour with an almost scaly appearance to the skin.
Why do I need a licence?
It is an offence to carry out works within an area where great crested newts are present without a licence and is likely to result in the prosecution of the developer. This is the case for all development whether or not it requires planning permission.
Of the three native newt species, only the great crested newt has full protection under UK law, including the places it inhabits (i.e. aquatic breeding habitat as well as terrestrial habitat). Smooth and palmate newts have protection only from being bought or sold.
Where are great crested newts found?
Great crested newts are a lowland species found throughout Britain being most common within central and southern England but are rare in central and west Wales, Scotland and Cornwall. They are absent in Ireland.
Being amphibians they require both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Breeding sites tend to be small to medium sized ponds with submerged plants for egg laying and more open water areas for courtship display. They tend to prefer ponds that are unshaded on the southern margin, they are not too fussy about water quality but tend not to be found in ponds where fish or water fowl are present.
They also use ditches and canals for breeding but do not breed in flowing water. Adult great crested newts spend a majority of the year away from water. Being largely nocturnal they need a daytime refuge for instance under logs, stones or in mammal burrows and so areas of rough tussocky grassland, scrub or woodland are favoured. Such habitats also provide good foraging potential as they emerge after night fall.
Hibernation requires similar features to daytime refuge and so over winter great crested newts can be found in wood piles, under stones and underground in mammal burrows or in hollow tree roots.
What happens during a GCN survey?
GCN surveys often start with a Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) assessment. HSI is a daytime assessment, with the methodology devised to evaluate the suitability of the pond habitats for GCN. HSI is not a substitute for GCN surveys, as on its own it cannot be used to state whether the pond definitely does or does not support GCN, but it is a useful tool when scoping survey requirements.
It is important that waterbodies surrounding the site are also assessed as newts can be found up to 500m from their breeding pond (or further, if suitable breeding waterbodies are present in the landscape). HSI surveys can be carried out at any time of year but they are best done in the spring or summer.
If any waterbodies are considered to have the potential to be a breeding habitat, then a number of exploratory survey methods are usually employed which look for direct evidence that great crested newts are present.
eDNA survey
eDNA is a daytime survey that can be carried out by a GCN-licensed ecologist between 15 April and 30 June (inclusive). The ecologists collect water samples from the pond which are then subsequently analysed in a laboratory. The eDNA test confirms the presence or absence of GCN. If GCN presence is confirmed, follow up survey work is required to determine the GCN population size.
If the HSI results/eDNA survey indicate that follow up survey work is required, the following further techniques are available to GCN-licensed surveyors to confirm GCN presence and determine the population size.
Bottle trapping
Bottle traps (made from 2 litre water bottles and bamboo sticks) are placed in the water around the pond edges (density of c. 1 bottle every 2m). The bottles must be carefully secured, taking care not to damage aquatic vegetation. The bottles are left in the water overnight and the newts are recorded and released in the morning.
Guidelines on suitable weather conditions and animal welfare must be strictly adhered to in order not to kill or injure newts (and other wildlife).
Egg search
Surveyors check submerged vegetation for newt eggs, looking for leaves with sharp folds, created when the female lays the egg and folds the leaf (using her hind legs) to protect the egg. Care must be taken not to trample vegetation, and as soon as the first GCN egg is found, the egg search stops. GCN eggs are easily identifiable as they are larger than palmate or smooth newt eggs and white/cream in colour, rather than buff/grey.
In ponds with little or no vegetation, or heavy duckweed cover that affects visibility during torching, the surveyors can create artificial egg laying material by attaching strips of bin bag to a bamboo stick which is then submerged and secured in the pond.
Torch survey
Surveyors slowly walk the pond perimeter after dark and check the waterbody margins for newts by using a strong torch. This survey technique is only used if the pond is relatively free of weeds and not turbid, as this would affect visibility.
Netting
Netting can also be used to capture GCN by using a net with a long handle, taking care not to injure GCN. Netting is usually used to indicate presence/ absence rather than for population size surveys, but can be a useful substitute for torching.
Refuge searches
Terrestrial searches should not be used on their own to determine absence of GCN, but can be used in conjunction with surveys of aquatic habitat if suitable habitat is present on site. The surveyor checks GCN resting places such as stones, wood, and discarded items such as cardboard boxes, furniture, carpet etc).
Refugia used for reptile surveys can also be used to create additional habitat that can be searched during the aquatic surveys.
Newt Survey Frequently Asked Questions
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Why do i need a license?
It is an offence to carry out works within an area where great crested newts are present without a licence and is likely to result in the prosecution of the developer. This is the case for all development whether or not it requires planning permission.
What is the legislation surrounding Great Crested Newts?
UK GCN populations are in decline and therefore GCN in all their life stages are protected by law (i.e. eggs and efts are protected as well as adults). Legislation also protects the GCN breeding sites (ponds and other waterbodies) and resting places (terrestrial habitat).
As a European Protected Species GCN is listed on Appendix II of the Bern Convention and on Annexes II and IV of the EU Natural Habitats Directive. GCN is also protected in England and Wales under Schedule 2 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 and under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) whereas in Scotland GCN is protected under Schedule 2 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 (as amended). GCN is also a priority species under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan and a Species of Principal Importance in England under section 41 of the NERC Act 2006 (section 42 in Wales) and in Scotland under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004.
In order not to trigger the legislation protecting GCN and their breeding/resting places, licences from the appropriate Statutory Nature Conservation Organisation are required to allow certain actions that would otherwise be illegal. But how do you know whether you need a licence? If your area is not covered by a District Licensing Scheme, this is where the GCN surveys come in, so you can find out whether the ponds on or near your site support GCN populations. If you find GCN during the surveys, you will need a licence before you start work on site.
What is the HSI assessment?
The HSI is a numerical index, between 0 (unsuitable/ poor habitat) and 1 (optimal/ excellent habitat) and is a combination of ten suitability indices, covering factors affecting GCN presence (geographic location, pond area, permanence, water quality, shade, presence /absence of waterfowl, presence/ absence of fish, number of ponds present within 1km, terrestrial habitat, and level of macrophytes).
Although HSI is not timing-constrained and can be done before/ after the GCN active season, certain HSI indices (such as macrophyte cover and shade) are more difficult to determine if HSI is not carried out in spring/ early summer.
What is the District Licensing Scheme?
The District Licensing (DL) Scheme aims to conserve great crested newt populations on a landscape-scale level, rather than the site-by-site approach of the traditional EPS GCN licences. The scheme allows newt habitats, and indeed the animals themselves, to be harmed within a site, by providing a robust compensation strategy for the GCN habitat loss by creation of new optimal GCN habitat away from the site in suitable areas, with good connectivity between breeding ponds. This approach provides net gain for GCN in terms of habitat creation and sustainability of the newt populations, as well as monitoring and long-term GCN protection at a landscape-scale level by the protection and maintenance of the ponds and terrestrial habitat. These licences are operated by Natural England, local planning authorities or bodies working on their behalf such as NatureSpace Partnership. Effort may still be required to assess and capture/ translocate newts within a site but the amount of time and extent of such surveys will be reduced.
What happens if GCN are present on my site?
If great crested newts are found to be present on, or in the vicinity of, the site then a licence has to be sought from Natural England, Natural Resources Wales or Scottish Natural Heritage to allow the newts to be trapped and translocated. This involves the construction of drift fencing and the setting of pitfall traps and refuge matting, installed by specialist contractors. The traps and refuges are inspected by licensed ecologists each morning for up to 90 days depending on the size of the newt population present. Any newts found are then translocated to a site that has been previously identified and agreed as a suitable and sustainable receptor. The drift fencing will need to remain in place throughout the works to prevent newts re-entering the site after the period of trapping has finished.
What does GCN mitigation involve?
A major condition for a traditional EPS GCN licence is that the population is maintained at a Favourable Conservation Status. This will be achieved by trapping/ translocation that will already have taken place prior to the beginning of any works, as well as maintenance of existing GCN habitat and creation or new habitat/ connectivity. However it is likely that during and post development, onsite habitats will become temporarily or permanently unsuitable for great crested newts and this will need to be compensated for. Such compensation measures may include retention of areas at the site that are suitable for GCN and habitat creation such as the construction of new ponds/ terrestrial habitat. If habitat retention or creation is not possible within the site, then the developer could use additional land off-site for this purpose. The level of mitigation required will depend on the size of the newt population within the area and the level of impact that the development is likely to cause.
How many visits are needed during the survey?
For a suite of surveys to be valid, three different methods should be used on each survey visit. An initial four visits are carried out, and if no great crested newts are found (or evidence of), then this is sufficient to determine that they are absent from the waterbody. If GCN are found, a further two visits must be carried out to determine the population size within the waterbody.
What time of year can GCN surveys take place?
GCN surveys are seasonally constrained and the survey season is short compared to other protected species. To confirm GCN presence/ absence and/ or determine the population size, surveys should be carried out between mid-March and June, with further timing constraints depending on the type of survey technique used. Each pond requires multiple survey visits (a minimum of four and, if GCN presence is confirmed, then additional two surveys), with at least three surveys carried out between mid-April and mid-May for population estimates.
Outside the March to June optimum survey ‘window’ it is possible to test water using eDNA analysis to see if great crested nests have been present.
This has the advantage that it only needs one survey but it will only indicate whether newts have been present in the water, and not the size of the newt population. Please note that for an eDNA survey to be used as part of a planning application (i.e. to indicate GCN are absent), the survey must still be carried out within the optimum survey window of March – June inclusive. If an eDNA survey does come back positive, a full six population monitoring surveys will be required, unless a GCN District Licence option is available in the district where the site is situated.
How much does a GCN survey cost?
The cost of GCN survey varies depending on a number of factors, including the number of waterbodies that need to be surveyed and the survey effort required.
Survey effort varies depending on whether GCN have already been confirmed as present, i.e. whether the survey is a presence/absence survey, or a population assessment survey. Due to the timing of surveys (late night/early morning working) and the fact that works are carried out around a waterbody, it is standard procedure for two surveyors to be required, for health and safety reasons. The lead surveyor must have a GCN class licence.
As an example:
A site including one waterbody with 20 bottle traps, will cost around £700 per survey for two surveyors to attend site (including the night time and morning visit to collect traps). As a minimum, four surveys are required to determine presence/absence, so if no newts are found, this would be approx. £2800. If newts are found, a further two surveys are required to determine population size, bringing the total to £4200, plus mileage expenses. Depending on the project requirements, this can be supported with a letter report, or the results can be compiled with other species/survey data into an EcIA report, usually costing between £700-£800.
For an eDNA survey, using the same site as an example, one visit would be required to collect the water sample, using two surveyors. The cost of the visit and preparing the sample would be approx. £230, plus the cost of the kit and the charge for analysis by the supplier (approx. £140), which we would pass on at cost.
Where can i find out more information?
https://www.froglife.org/info-advice/amphibians-and-reptiles/great-crested-newt/
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/great-crested-newts-surveys-and-mitigation-for-development-projects
https://naturespaceuk.com/district-licensing-scheme/
English Nature (2001) Great crested newt mitigation guidelines
Langton, T.E.S., Beckett, C.L., and Foster, J.P. (2001), Great Crested Newt Conservation Handbook,
Froglife, Halesworth. https://www.froglife.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/GCN-Conservation-Handbook_compressed.pdf
How far will ecologists travel for a Newt Survey?
Here at Wildwood, we are always conscious of our carbon footprint and try to minimise travel where possible. As a general rule, our ecologists will travel within 1.5 hours of either the Stroud or Caerphilly office. If your project is further than this, we do suggest you seek an alternative consultancy.
You can try CIEEM’s Registered Practices Directory, or we are always happy to make our own recommendations, which in turn will be more cost effective for you.