As outlined in a previous post, there’s been a plan to install a large wildlife pond – primarily intended for Great Crested Newts but other wildlife will also benefit from it – especially insects, which in turn are good for swallows, bats etc. The work got roughly scheduled for October 2024 and actually went ahead over 3 days: 9th – 11th October.

One criterion for the site being eligible for the District Level Licensing funding was that it should have clay subsoil which will hold water without needing a liner. The indications from an initial auger test were positive and wider excavation confirmed the presence of a good layer of clay over most of the area of the pond, which was then used to ‘patch’ the remainder of it.

The finished pond is deliberately a little ‘messy’ to encourage the natural regeneration of the site and the growth of water plants – as well as grass and wildflowers above the waterline.

The expectation is that the pond will naturally fill with rainwater over the winter. The team from Wildscapes will check it in January to ensure the clay is holding water (and will repair it by ‘puddling’ the clay if required).

In Europe, Great Crested Newts (CGNs) are a protected species and it is an offence to interfere with them or damage their habitat. Since some development activities unavoidably run the risk of doing such damage there is a mitigation measure available in the form of the District Level Licensing Schemes, administered by Natural England and DEFRA.

In summary, if a developer runs the risk of damaging GCN habitat they can subscribe to the local DLL scheme which funds the creation of alternative GCN habitat elsewhere in the local area – typically via the creation of new wildlife ponds.

This means that landowners in areas which have good potential for GCN occupancy can apply to have a new pond created (and then monitored and managed), with all the work funded by the DLL scheme. Some conditions apply:

• Each pond must have an area of at least 150 m_² (i.e. something like 10m x 15m).
• The soil must be able to hold water without relying on a pond liner, so it typically needs to be a heavy clay.
• The location must be in, or near, a Great Crested Newts Strategic Opportunity Area – in order for there to be a high probability of nearby GCN populations expanding to occupy the new pond.
• Fish and non-native plant species must not be introduced into the pond, and water fowl are discouraged.

There used to be quite a large pond at Marsh Flatts Farm, visible on some of the old maps and photos – notably this one:

From a biodiversity standpoint it would be good to reinstate some water to the site. In addition to newts, ponds tend to attract insects which in turn attract bats and insect-eating birds such as swallows.

Wildscapes CIC, based in Sheffield, are the appointed pond creation and management partner for Derbyshire Council. Their webpage on pond creation is here. Their approach is to identify pond-creation opportunities (typically based on enquiries from landowners) and prioritise the most promising sites, based on an annual quota for pond creation – as determined by the contributions to the DLL scheme.

Following some discussions and a site visit, Wildscapes have concluded that Marsh Flatts Farm is a good candidate and the plan is to proceed to construct a pond in late Autumn / early Winter 2024, once any Great Crested Newts have gone into hibernation.