Developer-funded ponds boosting newts and rare wildlife
18th March 2026
A pioneering conservation programme funded entirely by developers is helping Great Crested Newts and other threatened species recover across England, new research shows.
Nine out of 10 compensation sites where new ponds are created or restored through the NatureSpace Licensing Schemes are occupied by Great Crested Newts once ponds become established.
Researchers analysed hundreds of ponds created and restored under the NatureSpace schemes. As well as being colonised by Great Crested Newts, 58% of ponds support regionally or nationally threatened wetland plants, while 91% qualify as ‘Priority Ponds’, a national designation for waterbodies that are important for rare or threatened species.
Great Crested Newts have declined dramatically over the last 70 years and are protected by UK law. Because habitat loss is the biggest threat they face, developers are legally required to compensate for their impact on the species.
The NatureSpace District Licensing Schemes, regulated by Natural England, are described as offering ‘a strategic alternative to traditional great crested newt compensation’. The Newt Conservation Partnership – a collaboration between Amphibian and Reptile Conservation and Freshwater Habitats Trust – creates or restores at least four new ponds for every Great Crested Newt- occupied pond that is lost to development.
- A new pond complex in Staffordshire © NatureSpace Partnership
Newt Conservation Partnership CEO Dr Pascale Nicolet said: “The ponds we’re creating and restoring work for newts and other species because we know what’s needed: well-designed ponds with clean water located in the right place so local wildlife can colonise naturally.
“Newts are so often used as the scapegoat for development delays. But these results show what can be achieved when local planning authorities, environmental charities, landowners and developers work together. It’s a real conservation success.”
Dr Tom Tew, CEO of NatureSpace Partnership, said: “This scheme proves that protecting wildlife and enabling development are not opposing goals. District and organisational licensing gives developers certainty, speed and legal clarity, while ensuring high-quality habitat is created locally and in advance.
“These results show that this isn’t box-ticking mitigation – it’s a model that genuinely works for nature and for development.”
Professor Jeremy Biggs, CEO of Freshwater Habitats Trust, said: “This report shows the transformative effect this scheme is having on our landscape. Strategically creating and restoring ponds in carefully selected locations extends and links together existing wildlife hotspots, building a network of habitats for Great Crested Newts and other freshwater species.”
Dr Tony Gent, CEO of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, said: “Good conservation outcomes don’t happen by accident. These results show the value of long-term monitoring and evidence-led habitat creation. The NatureSpace schemes are delivering consistently high-quality ponds that outperform those in the wider countryside, benefiting great crested newts and other amphibians.”
Emeritus Professor Richard Griffiths, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, said: “The monitoring is proving just how well strategic licensing is working and these are incredible results – when the scheme started just over seven years ago, no-one would have predicted that Great Crested Newts would occupy 90% of mature compensation sites.”
The research is published in the report NatureSpace Licensing Schemes Monitoring Results 2021-2025.
Read the report
- A male Great Crested Newt @ Newt Conservation Partnership
Key findings
- 90% of mature sites occupied by Great Crested Newts (sites with ponds created or restored four or more years ago)
- 58% of ponds support threatened wetland plants
- 91% qualify as Priority Ponds
Case study: Newts breeding in ancient woodland
The Newt Conservation Partnership has extended a network of ponds in Rushbeds Wood, a Site of Special Scientific Interest owned and managed by Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
To increase breeding habitat for great crested newts, ponds were created in 2018, adding to an existing network of small woodland ponds.
Following five years of positive eDNA results, in the 2025 survey, Great Crested Newt eggs and larvae were recorded at the new ponds, along with high numbers of adult newts.
- One of two clean water ponds at Rushbeds Wood SSSI in Buckinghamshire, a Wildlife Trust reserve © Newt Conservation Partnership
Case study: Rare species thriving at historic estate in Sussex
Eight ponds have now been created and restored through the NatureSpace District Licensing Scheme at the Wadhurst Estate – a former deer park nestled in the High Weald National Landscape. These include restored ‘ghost’ ponds – historic ponds that were filled in for agriculture.
Alongside increasing the number of ponds, work has focused on diversifying the types of ponds to provide a range of habitats for newts and other species.
A new population of a nationally scarce insect, Pondweed Leafhopper has now been recorded on the Estate.
- Sussex Weald ‘ghost’ pond evolution over time – one year old © Newt Conservation Partnership
Endangered plant found on Oxfordshire-Buckinghamshire border
Developers have funded 45 ponds across 12 sites on the border of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, a region known for supporting populations of great crested newts, as well as rare bats, wetland birds and hairstreak butterflies.
This has secured and expanded great crested newt populations and connect existing habitats which will also benefit other wetland animals and plants.
The 2025 survey revealed a new population of the nationally endangered Water-plantain at a farmland site, the third compensation pond to support the species in the area.
- Lesser water-plantain, an Endangered species in Great Britain @ Newt Conservation Partnership