Newts

[Ramrod]

Funding opportunity for farmers in Cambridgeshire to create Newt Ponds


The Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) East and the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (BCN) are partnering with Natural England to create ponds in Cambridgeshire for the conservation of Great Crested Newts.
The ponds are being created to compensate for the environmental impacts of development.

We are providing up to £3200 per pond to create up to 6 ponds per landholding. Applications will be managed through EnTrade’s auction platform.
Providing your land falls within the target areas and the land management is favourable for newts, we invite you to take part in the scheme by bidding to create from 2 to 6 ponds. Go to EnTrade at https://www.entrade.co.uk/news/cambridgeshire-newt-ponds to see if you are eligible.

FWAG East will provide you with guidance on how to create the pond (we are not looking to restore existing ponds under this auction).

The auction will run from 16th June 2021 to 7th July 2021, and we will initially prioritise ponds that can be delivered soonest, but are happy for landowners to bid to deliver ponds anytime up to the end of March 2023.

For more information on the scheme, please go to or contact [email protected] (07500 127984) or [email protected] (07896 002793) or [email protected] .




Many thanks

Dan

Worlds gone f¥cking mad!!

 

[deleted user 436632456]

I like it..
Might have to go and buy some land in Cambridgeshire to try and get back the £22,000 newts have cost me this year.. May as well try to get something back out of them

 

[Cowmansam]

Depends what size the ponds have to be 1/2 acre gone for 3 grand is a very bad deal ten feet square very good deal

 

[Bald Rick]

Depends what size the ponds have to be 1/2 acre gone for 3 grand is a very bad deal ten feet square very good deal

Not if you want to develop in the future. Can be eye watering expensive surveying, netting and moving newts.

In fact it can drive you to drink ... hence the expression

 

[Cowmansam]

Yes location would be key

 

[serf]

Worlds gone f¥cking mad

Yep

 

[Ffermer Bach]

having read other threads on here about natural England, I would be very loathe to engage with anyone to do with anything like this

 

[Flatland guy]

Personally i wouldn't touch it with a barge pole, i have heard they have been advertising for landowners a bit further north of me. Basically for a pittance the offer for these ponds once completed you would have effectively signed your own death warrant on surrounding land and then they will bring these newts from some housing developer on the outskirts of some town etc who does not want to affect their plans for maximum developlment/profit and then you will be forever liable. It even states in their wording that it is to compensate for environmental impacts of development!!

 

[Dry Rot]

This is what I hate about grants and subsidies. Those who have done it already, get nothing (but by keeping quiet, won't get the planning blight either). And if you haven't dug your newt pond yet, best hold off in case there's even more money on offer. Some landowners do these things without the financial inducement because it's the right thing to do.

 

[borderterribles]

This is what I hate about grants and subsidies. Those who have done it already, get nothing (but by keeping quiet, won't get the planning blight either). And if you haven't dug your newt pond yet, best hold off in case there's even more money on offer. Some landowners do these things without the financial inducement because it's the right thing to do.

Quite. Although some (like a person of my acquaintance) put the digger back actor bucket through the side of his natural newt habitat , and drained it, as the newts were seriously comprising his development plans.

 

[mo!]

Depends what size the ponds have to be 1/2 acre gone for 3 grand is a very bad deal ten feet square very good deal

Without looking up the paperwork it pays pretty well. Certainly it will pay better in the wet corners I'm digging them at the end of the month than it will ever do growing crops.

No development potential here either.

 

[neilo]

Hmmmm. On a tenanted farm, where I really don’t want any more development nearby, the idea of getting paid for digging a few ponds for rare newts sounds quite appealing....

If I owned the same land, butting up to a small town that is expanding, I’d have to be off my rocker to encourage the little planning blockers.

 

[Nearly]

Newts aren't rare.

NE wanted to survey land next to sssi. We and 3 other farmers refused.
Newts are there because of how it's farmed not despite it.
NE would want to prevent any arable crops or muck application.