For British Homeowners, No Newts Is Good Newts
Endangered amphibian endangers new construction for pop stars and politicians; Boris Johnson promises to build a ‘newtopia’ to compensate for a swimming pool
Endangered amphibian endangers new construction for pop stars and politicians; Boris Johnson promises to build a ‘newtopia’ to compensate for a swimming pool
EASTCOURT, England—The bane of Britain’s great and powerful is a couple of inches long, has warty skin and a bright orange underbelly—and the power to disrupt some of their most heartfelt ambitions.
Singer Ed Sheeran, King Charles and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson are among the many homeowners in Britain who have, at one time or another, been warned they might have to alter their building plans to accommodate the great crested newt.
Britain is a country where the public proudly regard themselves as animal lovers. There are no wolves, lynxes or bears left in the wild here. But it turns out parts of the island nation have one of the greatest concentrations of great crested newts in Europe.
The tiny amphibian has a protected status here because its population is shrinking. Purposely killing a crested newt or destroying its habitat can result in a six-month jail sentence and unlimited fine. So before anything is built, Britons must be sure the area is newt-free and no newt home is harmed, a process that can take months and cost thousands of pounds.
Johnson once railed against “newt counting” as a symbol of excessive red tape hampering Britain’s notoriously slow housing developers. But when his plan to build a swimming pool at his Oxfordshire manor was recently delayed because it might disturb newts that might be in his nearby moat, Johnson offered to roll out the red carpet. He pledged to build a special pond, or, as he called it, “a newtopia,” to house them. He declined to comment further.
If a newt is found in a pond near a construction site, mitigation measures must be taken before the first brick is laid. That can range from building a special “newt fence” to protect it from wandering into harm’s way to hand collecting newts to move them to an artificial wetland, a la Johnson’s planned pond.
The regulations have spawned numerous newt consultants, who charge a fee that starts at around £200 ($253) to make sure homeowners don’t run afoul of the law. Teams of trained sniffer dogs can be employed to comb ponds near construction sites to give the all-clear. There are specially constructed “newt tunnels” dug under several major British roads—often costing millions of pounds—that allow the animals to crawl around freely. They have to be over 6 feet wide; otherwise they get too chilly and the newts refuse to use them.
On a recent day, Freya, a lively 8-year-old springer spaniel, charged around a field here in southwestern England, lying prone whenever she sniffed a crested newt. Her handler, Nikki Glover, is an ecologist who works for Wessex Water, a utility that wants to install water pipes in the area in September. It needs a newt count before it embarks on plans to move them to a suitable habitat.
Soon after starting to sniff around, Freya tugs at her leash and dives into a thick bush of brambles. “There’s interest there,” Glover says, before yanking on a blue plastic glove, crouching into the undergrowth, and reaching into a small muddy crevice. Her hand emerges cradling a newt.
The British government champions kits that detect DNA in pond water that it says can cut the red tape and find crested newts when they congregate during their breeding season. Annoyingly it means the tests must be completed between March and July as that is the only time the newts get it on, an elaborate ceremony which can include the small male newt tail-whipping his larger partner. “There are seasonal constraints,” says John Wenman, who runs an ecological consulting firm in Berkshire.
The little amphibian plays an outsize role in British culture. “Eye of newt” is a key ingredient in the witches brew in Shakespeare’s Macbeth (although even those witches wouldn’t actually hurt a newt—the expression is a pseudonym for mustard seed). When British people get very drunk they say they are “pissed as a newt” (origins unclear but perhaps linked to young sailors who were called “newts”). Former London mayor Ken Livingstone made political hay by owning pet newts.
Recently, newts have suffered a public-relations setback, becoming a symbol for unnecessary bureaucracy in a country where getting permission to build anything is lengthy and expensive. Britain faces an acute housing shortage, and homes remain unaffordable for many families. “For many years now, the great crested newt has had to live with a bad name,” Natural England, a government agency tasked with protecting the environment, warned on a blog a few years back.
In 2018, a council in Nottingham tendered for a contract worth up to £40,000 to relocate some 40 newts from a construction zone. When developing the stadium for the 2012 London Olympics, newts on the site in east London were hand collected in special plastic bottles and moved elsewhere. In 2017 the U.K. government reported that a house builder once paid an average of £2,261.55, or more than $2,800, per relocated newt. “No newts is good newts,” said one headline in Building Magazine.
Actress Cate Blanchett had to acquire a special license after newt consultants concluded there was “average to excellent habitat suitability” for crested newts in nearby water. She is trying to install several solar panels at her house in Sussex. King Charles was warned about disturbing newts by a British amphibian lobby group when he recently proposed to build a gift shop at his residence at Highgrove. Crested newts briefly threatened a plan by Ed Sheeran to build a chapel on his property until he built an amphibian-proof fence to protect them.
Many newt consultants rely on low-tech methods such as “torching,” or shining flashlights at ponds during the night to count crested newts. Glover, the ecologist, swears by dogs.
To teach Freya to find newts, Glover turned to Louise Wilson, a veteran dog trainer in north Wales who cut her teeth using canines to search for improvised explosive devices and drugs.
When a sewage pipe cracked near Bristol recently, before Wessex Water could stop the effluent from flowing out it had to first make sure no crested newts would be harmed by the diggers turning up to do the repair. Glover and Freya appeared and within days had evacuated 86 newts. She estimates more traditional methods would have required a month of newt hunting.
“There is no other tool that would show you there is a newt in the burrow,” she says.
This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan
Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.
Home to Sir Robert Menzies and Dame Pattie, this grand Melbourne estate is a piece of Australian political history.
It may be a well-worn cliche, but if these walls could talk there would be plenty of state secrets to share. The landmark residence at 8-10 Howard St, Kew was once the private residence of Sir Robert Menzies and Dame Pattie between 1929 and 1949, during the Prime Minster’s first term in the top job. He later held the role again from 1949 to 1966, making him Australia’s longest serving Prime Minister.
Historical land records indicate that the Howard St property was sold to Leonard Clinton Shaw, brother-in-law of Pattie Menzies. Robert and Patti then moved to live into The Lodge in Canberra.
The stately arts and crafts era home was built in the 1910s and has reportedly played host to a long list of dignitaries and VIP guests. As rumour has it, the drawing room of the Kew property is where Menzies crafted his iconic speeches and held many clandestine meetings.
Today the imposing five-bedroom residence, which sits on a vast 1874sq m land parcel in the coveted Studley Park precinct, has come to market through Marshall White agents James Tostevin and Chris Barrett with a price guide of $8.3 million to $8.9 million.
According to CoreLogic, the property last sold in 2018 for $7.75 million.
Beyond the expansive parklike grounds that to pay homage to celebrated Australian landscaper Edna Walling, the two-storey house is packed with meticulously maintained period features.
Showcasing the best of arts and crafts design influences, the home has a charming tuck-point brick façade, a tessellated tile veranda, coloured leadlight glass windows, dark stained wood panelling inside, as well as high decorative ceilings and cornices.
The large foyer divides the lower level into two distinct zones; big formal rooms and more casual family-friendly spaces. Built for entertaining on a grand scale, both the lounge and dining rooms rooms have original fireplaces and open out to either the undercover veranda or enclosed sunroom.
Also on the ground level, a spacious family room with yet another fireplace connects to an everyday meals area, and the contemporary kitchen comes complete with granite surfaces, a Paul Bocuse stove, an integrated Miele dishwasher, a walk-in pantry and wine cellar. A home office, or potential guest bedroom, plus a large laundry and two powder rooms round out the lower level floor plan.
Up via a majestic timber staircase, four big bedrooms have fireplaces and built-in wardrobes, while the primary suite is home to a palatial ensuite and dressing room. This accommodation level also houses two family bathrooms and a rear balcony that overlooks the grounds.
Outdoors there are multiple lifestyle features including a north/south tennis court with lighting, a unique rounds swimming pool and all-weather terraces.
Other features include an alarm, hydronic heating, a 60,000L underground tank, a garden shed, a remote double garage and additional off-street parking.
Located on the old Oakland Estate, the Menzies’ former home is close to popular eateries, Xavier College, St Vincents Private Hospital and golf courses.
Expressions of interest close on March 11, at 5pm for 8-10 Howard St, Kew. The home is listed with a price guide of $8.3 million to $8.9 million through agents James Tostevin and Chris Barrett of Marshall White.
This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan
Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.