District Level Licensing for Great Crested Newts: How it works

​What is it?
District Level Licensing is a new scheme that is being initiated in Kent to eliminate the need to carry out and submit GCN survey data with planning applications. It is important to note that District Licensing is not compulsory and standard GCN licensing procedures can be followed instead.
The new scheme makes use of existing survey data to produce a plan that details the level of risk based on a site’s location. New developments will fall under one of three categories or “risk zones” depending on Natural England’s (NE) assessment of the GCN population and habitats in that area. These zones are Red, Amber, Green. The zone that a development falls under will determine the extent of compensation required for affected ponds.
The type of compensation has also changed. Under the district licensing scheme developers will only be required to pay a certain fee to NE, who will then be responsible for any compensation. This fee can vary depending on the development, costing up to £15,165 + VAT per pond. If the development affects a large population of GCN some additional mitigation works may be still required.

How do you apply?
When applying for District Licensing, the first stage will be to submit an application to Natural England which can be found on the .gov.uk website. Although there is no requirement to submit survey data with a district license application, it may reduce mitigation costs if you choose to do so.
Once the application has been submitted NE will determine the impact of the proposed development on the local GCN populations. If no survey data is submitted with the application, then NE will assume all ponds within 250m to be occupied by GCN.
Once a compensatory fee has been agreed, NE will issue an Impact Assessment and Conservation Payment Certificate that will be submitted at planning. Once planning approval is granted, NE will issue a license to the developer to discharge any legal obligation to preserve GCN species or habitat on site.
What are the benefits?

• The district licensing approach allows developments to proceed without the limitation of the GCN survey season (March-June)
• Rather than maintaining small isolated pockets of GCN the scheme focuses on an increasingly holistic approach, improving GCN habitat and connectivity on a larger scale.
• A district license will increase the acquisition speed of planning approval and allow work to begin with less delay
• NE estimates that most development sites in Kent will not require the full fee of 15,165+ VAT
• Post development costs decrease as the developer is not required to carry out monitoring surveys

What should you be aware of?

• If you do not submit any survey data (i.e. eDNA) with your application, NE will assume all ponds within 250m of the site are occupied by GCN which may increase the compensatory fee.
• The District license only takes into account GCN presence, and will not affect necessary reptile surveys and mitigation measures
• Planning policy and EIA assessments may still require ponds to be assessed when determining net biodiversity value