Guidance

How to join the great crested newt district level licensing scheme

Updated 1 November 2024

Applies to England

If you’re a developer proposing to develop land where great crested newts may live, you can pay to join a district level licensing scheme if there is one in that area.

By joining a scheme, you do not need to:

• carry out your own surveys of great crested newts
• plan and carry out mitigation work to move the newts to safety

You can find out how much district level licensing will cost before applying for planning permission or other consent.

Schemes are operated by:

• Natural England
• NatureSpace Partnership
• a local planning authority (LPA)

Find out which scheme to apply for in your area under ‘Where district level licensing schemes operate’.

This guidance is for the Natural England-led scheme. Contact the NatureSpace Partnership or the relevant local authority for information about their schemes.

If you are considering applying for a district level licence for a development site that has ponds within the proposed red line boundary, contact [email protected] to discuss your options. You should do this as soon as possible.

If a district level licensing scheme does not operate in your area, you must apply for a mitigation licence.

How district level licensing works

By joining Natural England’s district level licensing scheme, you comply with your legal duty to protect great crested newts. You pay for off-site compensation ponds instead of carrying out detailed surveys and applying for a mitigation licence.

You can use district level licensing for all types of development, including:

• housing, energy and transport
• permitted development
• nationally significant infrastructure projects
• phased development

Natural England will:

• measure the impact of your proposed development on great crested newts, using the risk zone maps
• assess the cost of dealing with the impact through new or improved ponds for great crested newts
• issue an impact assessment and conservation payment certificate (an IACPC) for you to sign up to the scheme
• issue a licence after you’ve received the necessary planning consent

There are 3 risk zones:

• red zones have great crested newt populations of regional, national or international importance – these are unsuitable for district level licensing
• amber zones have great crested newt populations, habitats and dispersal routes – these are suitable for district level licensing
• green zones have fewer areas with great crested newts – these are suitable for district level licensing

If your development is in a red zone, you cannot use district level licensing. You should apply for a mitigation licence instead.

To apply, you should follow these 6 steps. You must not start development work until you receive your great crested newt district level licence from Natural England (step 6).

Step 1: submit information about your development

Download and complete the great crested newt district level licensing enquiry form.

You must provide your proposed red line boundary:

• as a geographic information system (GIS) polygon shapefile
• on an accurate map or plan (such as a PDF)

You must show any survey work you’ve done on a GIS polygon shapefile. Include evidence of:

• ponds on the site, including any within 250 metres of the site
• presence or absence of great crested newts

Read guidance on what to include in the shapefile.

Natural England will use this to assess the effect of your development on great crested newts.

Email your documents to Natural England at [email protected]

You can send a Google Earth KML file if you cannot provide a GIS polygon shapefile. For instructions on how to do this email Natural England at [email protected]

Phased developments

You can join the scheme if you’re planning a new phased development or are part way through an existing one.

If you’re applying for outline planning permission for the whole of your development, you must include:

• the outer red line boundary for the whole site in a GIS polygon shapefile
• the red line boundaries for all phases in a separate GIS polygon shapefile

If you’ve started work on a phased development but do not have full planning permission for all phases, you must include:

• the red line boundaries for each phase you do not have full planning permission for in one GIS polygon shapefile
• reference numbers for existing great crested newt mitigation licences if you have them

If your phasing plan is complex, you can apply for Natural England’s discretionary advice service. You will need to complete a charged service request form and email it to [email protected]

Step 2: agree to join the scheme

Natural England will assess the information in your enquiry form and send you an IACPC. This is your agreement to join the scheme. It explains:

• the terms and conditions of the scheme
• how much you’ll pay to join and how Natural England calculates this cost

Natural England will invoice you £684 (£570 + VAT) for the enquiry fee. You must pay this within 28 days of the invoice date.

If you accept the terms and conditions, sign the IACPC in section 6 and email it to Natural England. Natural England will countersign the IACPC electronically and email it back to you.

If your development needs 3 or more compensation ponds, you must make a first-stage conservation payment to fund new and improved habitats for great crested newts. You will not get a countersigned IACPC from Natural England unless you pay this. See step 5 for the conditions of paying the rest of your conservation payment.

Until you send your signed IACPC back to Natural England for countersigning, it’s only valid for:

• 6 weeks from the date of issue if you need to make a first-stage payment
• 3 months from the date of issue if you do not need to make a first-stage payment

Step 3: get consent for your development proposal

You must include a copy of the countersigned IACPC with your application for planning permission (or other consent) to show you’ve agreed to join the scheme.

If you do not get planning permission, you will need to reapply to join the scheme (step 1) with your revised development proposal. You would be refunded for any first-stage payments you made.

If you do not require any consents to start your development, move to step 4.

Step 4: apply for a great crested newt district level licence

When you have planning permission, you must download and complete the application form for a great crested newt district level licence.

You may need to include a reasoned statement to show that there are no satisfactory alternatives to your planned activity.

If you need to complete a reasoned statement for overriding public interest, you do not need to fill in section B4.

A great crested newt method statement is not required for district level licensing.

Email Natural England your:

• application form
• reasoned statement

Natural England will reply to confirm it has received your application.

Step 5: pay to join the scheme

Natural England will invoice you for the full or remaining conservation payment set out in your scheme IACPC. You must pay this within 28 days of the invoice date.

Step 6: approval to start work

You’ll get your licence when:

• you’ve paid the enquiry fee and conservation payment
• Natural England has approved your licence application

You can start work as soon as you receive your licence.

If you applied with outline planning permission, you must notify Natural England within 2 weeks of the local authority approving any reserved matters applications.

Natural England will invoice you for the licence fee of £690 (exempt from VAT). You must pay this within 28 days of the invoice date.

You may need to apply for a licence to carry out mitigation works that affect other protected species if they’re present on your site.

How much you’ll pay

You’ll have to pay the:

• enquiry fee of £684 (£570 + VAT)

• licence fee of £690 (exempt from VAT)

• conservation payment set out in your scheme IACPC

The conservation payment will depend on the:

• number of ponds affected
• risk zone where the site is located

Natural England will charge you £110 if you need to change an invoice after it has been raised.

Where district level licensing schemes operate

You can apply to join a Natural England-led scheme if you have a development proposal in:

• Cambridgeshire
• Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester
• Cumbria
• Derbyshire
• Essex
• Greater Manchester
• Halton
• Hertfordshire
• Kent and Medway
• Lancashire
• Leicestershire county (all districts except Blaby), Leicester city, Rutland, Rushcliffe and South Kesteven
• Norfolk and Suffolk
• North Lincolnshire
• North Somerset and South Gloucestershire - excluding Bristol
• Northumberland, Durham, Tees Valley (Darlington, Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees only) and Tyne and Wear (Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside only)
• Shropshire - except Telford and Wrekin which has its own scheme
• Somerset - excluding the former West Somerset district and Exmoor National Park
• Swindon and Wiltshire
• Warrington
• Yorkshire - excluding Calderdale, City of Bradford and Kirklees

NatureSpace district level licensing scheme

You can apply to join a NatureSpace Partnership-led scheme if you have a development proposal in:

• Bedfordshire
• Berkshire
• Buckinghamshire
• East Sussex
• Gloucestershire
• Hampshire
• Milton Keynes
• Northamptonshire
• Oxfordshire
• Staffordshire – excluding Cannock Chase, Stoke-on-Trent and the Peak District National Park
• Surrey – excluding Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Waverley and Woking
• West Sussex

Local planning authority-led district level licensing schemes

If your development proposal is in one of these areas, you can apply to join their schemes:

• Dorset Council Great Crested Newt Licensing Scheme
• Telford and Wrekin Strategic Newt Licencing
• Woking great crested newt pilot project

Changes to site boundaries

If a site boundary changes it may change:

• how the development affects great crested newt habitat
• the conservation payment required to join the scheme

Email Natural England for advice. Include your enquiry reference or licence number in the email.

If you have a district level licence, Natural England will tell you if your licence needs changing and how much you need to pay. You must not start development work in new areas until you have paid for and received your amended licence.

When to report action taken

Your licence is valid for 2 years from the date of issue.

Natural England will send you a report of action form when it issues your licence.

You must complete and return the report form to Natural England within 14 days of the date your licence expires.

How to renew your licence

If your development will take longer than 2 years, you must email Natural England to request renewal of your licence at least 1 month before it expires. Include the report of action form with details of activities you’ve carried out to date.

You’ll need to pay an extra fee for the licence.

Get help

Email the great crested newt district level licensing team if you need more information on district level licensing and how to apply.

Email [email protected]