Good luck Helen. Well done you for seeking advice.
I had newts in my garden, in the compost. I reported them to the council as a planning application was in on the land adjacent to my garden, where there is a culvert. The council ignored it, and relied on a report paid for by the developer that said any evidence of newts was inconclusive.
Hope Attenborough calls you back. I love it there.
GCN, as has been said are heavily protected. It is a crime under the Wildlife and Countryside Act to displace them. You will just have to wait until the wildlife trusts get back to you. I would agree with the above suggestions that you should be pleased to have them and incorporate that wildlife pond into your garden plans. I hope this sparks an interest for you.
Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
I know someone who was In an identical situation to you and they ended up having a metal grille / frame made that could be walked on. It was placed over the pond raised up slightly.
A new-born's head on average is greater than I think it's 120mm so the gaps in the grille had to be I think it was no more than 100mm but this isn't comfortable to walk on so i think they decided on 60mm square holes in the frame. The gap between the soil and the underside of the frame had to be less than 100mm too.
It worked a treat, problem solved. As the kids got older the grille / frame was removed as it wasn't required anymore and they still enjoy the GCN today.
They are protected by law (although I'm dubious about how rare they actually are these days). I think putting a temporary cover over the pond is a great idea. A pond is a great thing for kids and wildlife, although you're right to be concerned about safety while the children are young. I remember being fascinated by our pond when I was a kid - it sparked all sorts of dreams of being the next David Attenborough!
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Good luck Helen. Well done you for seeking advice.
I had newts in my garden, in the compost. I reported them to the council as a planning application was in on the land adjacent to my garden, where there is a culvert. The council ignored it, and relied on a report paid for by the developer that said any evidence of newts was inconclusive.
Hope Attenborough calls you back. I love it there.
I'm trying to sound convincing help me out here Philippa
I'll take all the help I can get here - already overrun by the tiny little buggers.
GCN, as has been said are heavily protected. It is a crime under the Wildlife and Countryside Act to displace them. You will just have to wait until the wildlife trusts get back to you. I would agree with the above suggestions that you should be pleased to have them and incorporate that wildlife pond into your garden plans. I hope this sparks an interest for you.
I know someone who was In an identical situation to you and they ended up having a metal grille / frame made that could be walked on. It was placed over the pond raised up slightly.
A new-born's head on average is greater than I think it's 120mm so the gaps in the grille had to be I think it was no more than 100mm but this isn't comfortable to walk on so i think they decided on 60mm square holes in the frame. The gap between the soil and the underside of the frame had to be less than 100mm too.
It worked a treat, problem solved. As the kids got older the grille / frame was removed as it wasn't required anymore and they still enjoy the GCN today.
They are protected by law (although I'm dubious about how rare they actually are these days). I think putting a temporary cover over the pond is a great idea. A pond is a great thing for kids and wildlife, although you're right to be concerned about safety while the children are young. I remember being fascinated by our pond when I was a kid - it sparked all sorts of dreams of being the next David Attenborough!
Would these sort of nets do the trick? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/182434027193?chn=ps&adgroupid=35352091421&rlsatarget=pla-279351690418&abcId=923926&adtype=pla&merchantid=115062072&poi=&googleloc=1007067&device=c&campaignid=738466455&crdt=0