By Kate Whannel
Political reporter, BBC News
As prime minister, Boris Johnson railed against “newt-counting” as a “massive drag on prosperity” blaming the process for slowing down building in the UK.
Now, his own plans to build a pool at his newly-acquired Oxfordshire home may be hampered due to the presence of his old nemesis, the great crested newt.
Objecting to the pool, one council officer warned nearby newts could be impacted by the development.
He advised planning permission should not be granted, without an assessment.
Mr Johnson moved to the £3.8m 17th Century house in May of this year. The grounds of the nine-bedroom building include a tennis court and is bordered on three sides by a moat.
The holding objection to the pool, first reported in the Telegraph, was lodged by South and Vale Countryside Officer Edward Church who said the proposed development falls within “the red zone of highest risk to great crested newts”.
“Natural England guidance requires that proposals need to demonstrate no risk to GCN or appropriate levels of mitigation and compensation following assessment.”
He said protected species surveys may be needed to support Mr Johnson’s application.
Great crested newts are a European protected species and it is an offence to deliberately kill, injure or capture them, or damage their breeding sites and resting places.
According to government agency Natural England, the population of great crested newts has dramatically declined over the last 60 years.
In order to protect the species, local councils have to check developers have taken appropriate measures to mitigate negative effects on the orange-bellied amphibians.
Mr Johnson’s application to build an 11 by 4m outdoor swimming pool, also attracted comments from the council’s County Archaeological Services who noted that the site was an area of “considerable archaeological interest” as it was believe to be the location of a moat of a 12th century siege castle.
The body said the development “despite its relatively limited nature, could encounter archaeological deposits related to the medieval development”.
It advised that if permission was granted, some form of archaeological monitoring should take place during construction.
Image source, Getty Images
Great crested newts can be identified by their orange belly and warty skin
The Campaign to Protect Rural England Oxfordshire noted that the application did not include an external lighting scheme.
The organisation said it was working to reduce light pollution and any new plans for pool lighting should be subject to prior approval.
Rebecca Barnett, the conservation officer for the local district council said she had no objection to the pool, concluding that it would be “unharmful” to the character and appearance of the conservation area.
The application of the former prime minister also received other, perhaps less serious, comments, with one anonymous contributor giving their address as “123 Brexit Avenue, Sunlit Uplands” – a reference to Mr Johnson’s role in taking the UK out of the EU.
Boris Johnson’s spokesman declined to comment on the newts.
