Great Crested Newt Habitat Development

Develop a new butyl lined pond in six different meadows within Gorse Hill Nature Reserve, designed to provide breeding habitat for Great Crested Newts and other freshwater aquatic life. The lining is needed so that fluctuating water levels will not affect their water retaining capacity. Shallow pond sides will increase the length of the ecologically important ‘shallow zone’. Pond sites result from15 years field observations.
This project is directly linked to the GCN species plan contained in the Lancashire BAP. Further, the high priority action of Objective C ‘Assist the natural establishment of new self-sustaining populations through the restoration of ‘pondways’ and of landscapes rich in ponds’ describes the scheme very well. Breeding populations have been identified through annual surveys involving ourselves, Dr Alan Bedford (Edge Hill University) and others. GCN’s are a target species under LBAP objective C1. We also have the support of Margaret O’Kane of English Nature who has visited the site.