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Reptiles

Direct Ecology can provide reptile survey for Common Lizard, Slow Worm, Adder and Grass Snake .  Any site with scrub and rough grassland may have reptiles present. 

Great Crested Newt

Any site with a pond may require great crested newt survey.  Newts can move considerable distances overland from breeding sites and therefore all ponds within 500m of a site boundary should be surveyed at the earliest opportunity to determine if newts may be present. Survey is seasonally constrained to the spring and early summer, when adults are in breeding ponds.

Great crested newts are fully protected under UK legislation in particular under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, & C.) Regulations 1994, and in Scotland under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, & C.) Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2007.  For example it is an offence to deliberately or recklessly disturb great crested newt in a resting up site or to damage or destroy a breeding or resting site for these species.  It is an offence to kill, capture, or disturb them, or to damage or destroy their breeding ponds or terrestrial habitats (as newts spend a proportion of their life cycle in each).   A European protected species licence will be required before development affecting great crested newts can start. We can advise regarding survey needs and can guide you through the licensing and mitigation process. The Scottish Government advise that a licence application can take at least 6-8 weeks to assess.  The application would need to be accompanied with survey results and where appropriate, full mitigation measures involving, for example, new pond creation, trapping and translocation and exclusion. 

Survey for other amphibians (Smooth Newt, Palmate Newt, Common Frog and Common Toad) can also be undertaken.