Natural England - Utility company fined for damaging great crested newt habitat

Utility company fined for damaging great crested newt habitat

6 March 2009

On 6 March 2009 at Chelmsford Magistrates Court, EDF Energy Networks (EPN) PLC, were fined £1,000 with £90 costs after pleading guilty to damaging or destroying a resting place of great crested newts at an electricity infrastructure site in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex.

The company had carried out an extension to their site following the construction of a new housing estate nearby without an ecological assessment. In 2006 a housing developer was convicted of a similar offence when they carried out works outside of the conditions of a licence issued to them by Natural England in respect of great crested newts.

Following the verdict, Natural England Wildlife Management Adviser for Essex, Paul Cantwell said: “This case highlights the importance of companies, including utility companies, of carrying out ecological assessments before undertaking works on sites where there may be protected species. It is not just large scale developments or projects that can have detrimental impacts on protected species, smaller scale work such as this can also be damaging.”

PC Andrew Long, the Wildlife Crime Co-ordinator for Essex Police said: "This case demonstrates that Essex Police, working with agencies such as Natural England can have a positive impact on wildlife crime. Essex Police will, where possible, investigate matters of wildlife crime, and if there is sufficient evidence refer the matter to the Crown Prosecution Service.”

Ends

Notes for editors:

  1. Natural England works for people, places and nature to conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas. We conserve and enhance the natural environment for its intrinsic value, the well-being and enjoyment of people, and the economic prosperity it brings.

  2. The offence prosecuted was the damage or destruction of a breeding site or resting place of a European protected species under Section 39(1) of The Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 (as amended).

  3. Great crested newts and their habitat are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 (as amended). They breed in ponds but spend much of their lives on land, sometimes venturing several hundred metres from the pond. They often depend on several ponds close together, linked by suitable land habitats. Great crested newts are found in rural, suburban and urban areas. A licence is required to undertake actions affecting great crested newts which would normally be prohibited by law (such as capturing newts, or filling in their breeding ponds).

  4. Information on species licensing and the law regarding protected species in England can be found on the Natural England internet site .

  5. For further information contact: Linzee Kottman, Natural England Regional Press Officer on 01223 533431, linzee.j.kottman@naturalengland.org.uk or Natural England’s Press Office on 0845 603 9953, press@naturalengland.org.uk

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