Great crested newt presence and population survey

A traditional presence and population survey is required in three main situations.

The first is where a positive eDNA result has confirmed that great crested newts are present in a pond. The eDNA survey establishes presence but cannot determine population size. If development works will affect the pond or the terrestrial habitat around it, a population size class assessment is needed before a licence can be applied for.

The second is where the eDNA window has been missed and the planning programme cannot wait until the following April. A traditional survey can be started earlier in the season, from mid-March, giving access to a broader window than eDNA alone.

The third is where the planning authority or Natural England specifies that a traditional survey is required rather than eDNA, typically where the development is close to a known population or where the site is within a red zone where District Level Licensing is not available.

A traditional great crested newt survey uses four methods in combination. Each must be carried out at each survey visit, and the results from all methods contribute to the overall assessment of presence and population size.

Torchlight survey. The ecologist uses a high-powered torch at night to scan the pond margins and illuminated water for the distinctive silhouette of great crested newts. Adults are active near the surface during the breeding season and can often be counted directly. The count from each visit contributes to the population size class calculation.

Bottle trapping. Baited bottle traps are set around the pond margins at dusk and checked at dawn. Newts enter the traps seeking food or shelter and are counted and released. Trapping results are particularly valuable in ponds where water clarity limits torchlight effectiveness.

Egg searches. Female great crested newts lay individual eggs wrapped in pond vegetation. The ecologist searches submerged leaves for folded egg packets, which provide direct evidence of breeding and contribute to the population assessment.

Artificial refugia. Corrugated roofing felt or similar materials are laid out in the terrestrial habitat around the pond before the first visit and checked at each subsequent visit. Great crested newts and other amphibians use them as sheltered resting sites, providing supplementary presence data from the land surrounding the pond.

The survey window runs from mid-March to mid-June. Visits must be spread across this period and cannot all be clustered at one point in the season. Natural England’s guidance requires that at least two of the four or six visits fall within the optimal window of mid-April to mid-May, when water temperatures are right and adult newts are most reliably detected.

For a four-visit presence or absence survey, the visits are typically scheduled at roughly two-week intervals from mid-March, with two visits concentrated in the optimal window. For a six-visit population size class survey, the additional visits are distributed to provide consistent coverage from early season through to mid-June.

Visits must be carried out under suitable weather conditions: mild temperatures above five degrees Celsius, no heavy rain, and low wind. If conditions are unsuitable on the planned night, the visit must be rescheduled, which is why early season planning and a flexible programme are important. Starting the booking process before the season opens is strongly recommended.

Where great crested newts are confirmed present, the population size class assessment uses the count data from six visits to assign the pond population to one of three categories. A small population contains fewer than ten adults. A medium population contains between ten and one hundred. A large population contains more than one hundred.

The size class is a critical input into the licence application and the design of mitigation measures. A large population requires more extensive mitigation than a small one: more land set aside for compensatory habitat, more time for mitigation works before development can begin, and more detailed management plans for the retained and created habitat. Getting an accurate size class early in the design process allows the architect or engineer to plan around the mitigation requirement rather than retrofitting it later.

Confirming great crested newts does not stop a development proceeding. It means the development must demonstrate that it meets the three legal tests that Natural England applies before granting a European Protected Species mitigation licence.

The first test is that the development serves an imperative reason of overriding public interest. For most planning proposals this is straightforwardly satisfied. The second is that there is no satisfactory alternative to the proposed works that would avoid or reduce the impact. The third is that the works will not be detrimental to the favourable conservation status of the species.

Where all three tests are met, a licence is granted and the development can proceed, subject to the mitigation measures specified in the licence being implemented correctly. Those measures will be based directly on the survey findings: the population size class, the ponds used, and the terrestrial habitat present around the site.

Planning permission must be in place before a licence application can be submitted to Natural England. The survey and planning application run in parallel; the licence follows.

Where the site falls within a Natural England District Level Licensing (DLL) area and is not in a red zone, DLL provides a faster and simpler route to a development licence than the traditional site-specific approach. Under DLL, the developer makes a conservation payment to Natural England rather than commissioning detailed mitigation works, and Natural England uses that payment to fund habitat creation elsewhere in the landscape.

Where DLL is available, a full population size class survey is not always required. An HSI assessment and, in some areas, an eDNA survey may be sufficient to determine eligibility and the level of the conservation payment. We advise on whether DLL is the right route for your site and manage the process through to licence issue where it is.

Where DLL is not available, because the site is in a red zone or is outside a DLL area, a site-specific survey, planning submission, and licence application are required, and the traditional survey programme described above applies in full.

Traditional great crested newt survey costs depend on the number of ponds, the number of visits required, and the location of the site. A four-visit presence or absence survey and a six-visit population size class survey are priced separately, and we will advise on which is needed based on your planning authority’s requirements and the stage your programme has reached.

Survey bookings for the mid-March to mid-June window fill early. To avoid losing a season, get in touch before the window opens with your site address, the number and location of ponds to be surveyed, and any existing ecological information for the site. We will confirm the programme, provide a fixed quote, and schedule visits to fit your planning timeline.