New wildlife ponds approved for Sunderland's Herrington Country Park to give new homes to newts

Plans for new wildlife ponds at Herrington Country Park to provide “valuable” habitat for great crested newts have been given the green light.
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Back in July, 2022, Sunderland City Council’s planning department received a planning application for the popular country park on Wearside.

The application from Durham Wildlife Trust aimed to create eight new wildlife ponds to support the great crested newt, a European protected species.

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Plans were linked to Natural England’s “district level licensing” scheme, which uses developer funds to help increase great crested newt populations at a county level.

Stock picture of a great-crested newtStock picture of a great-crested newt
Stock picture of a great-crested newt

Herrington Country Park sits within one “strategic opportunity area” where experts believe the addition of new ponds would benefit the protected species.

Planning documents confirm former Herrington Country Park staff reported “small numbers” of great crested newts being found a number of years ago and that “it is possible a small population remains”.

After considering the wildlife ponds plan and assessing it against planning policies, Sunderland City Council’s planning department approved it on September 23, 2022.

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A council decision report said the plans would “not be inappropriate development in the Green Belt”.

Herrington Country Park is to get new wildlife ponds.Herrington Country Park is to get new wildlife ponds.
Herrington Country Park is to get new wildlife ponds.

A statement from the council’s ecologist, included in the decision report, also said the scheme would provide “valuable aquatic wildlife habitat” in the area.

The statement adds:“The proposed locations for ponds have been selected to be within dispersal distance from existing suitable habitats within the vicinity.

“While this is appropriate in order to achieve the aims of habitat creation there remains a small risk to individual great crested newts as a result of the physical habitat creation works.

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“However, this risk has been adequately controlled by the proposed working methods described in the checklist document submitted with the application.”

The wildlife ponds are proposed towards the east of the park and each would cover an area of around 150m2.

Additionally, they would have a maximum depth of around 1.5 metres and would be fed naturally by rain water.

Works on the wildlife ponds would also include methods to avoid harm to individual newts, should they be present, including a “hand search of suitable habitats to be affected by the works” by an ecologist.

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Under planning conditions, the development must take place within three years.

For more information on the wildlife ponds plan, visit Sunderland City Council’s online planning portal and search reference: 22/01600/FU4