Newts to be moved ahead of Ironbridge Power Station demolition
A haven for great crested newts has been revealed as part of plans for a former power station.
The Harworth Group hopes to construct 20 wildlife ponds to provide a new home for the protected amphibians living on its recently purchased Ironbridge Power Station site.
The 9.1-area site will be developed before the decommissioned coal-fired power station is demolished under plans approved in November 2017.
FCPR Environment and Design Ltd, on behalf, of Harworth, said: “This strategy will require translocation of the great crested newt population from the power station area to a ‘mitigation (or receptor) area’, and for the subsequent trapping and translocation of the proposed consented demolition area to be undertaken within the provisions of a European Protected Species licence.”
Great crested newts, their eggs, breeding sites and resting places, are protected by law.
Those found to cause harm to the newts can face an unlimited fine and up to six months in prison if found guilty.
The application marks the start of proposals by the Harworth Group to develop the 350-acre site with several hundred new homes, commercial and leisure uses, and a “significant” public open space.
It comes just weeks after the company confirmed its purchase of the site for an undisclosed price.
The power station was closed in November 2015 and demolition plans, including the destruction of its four pink cooling towers, were submitted by former owners Uniper in September 2017.
Steve Lewis-Roberts, regional director for the Pegasus Planning Group on behalf of Harworth, said the regeneration plans are due to be submitted next year.
He continued: “It is anticipated that a workshop will be held with stakeholders in September 2018, followed by a public consultation event in October 2018 to discuss the emerging proposals for the site with local stakeholders and members of the public.
“An outline planning application for the redevelopment of the site will then be prepared for submission in 2019.”
A decision on the great crested newt ponds is expected by October 1.
By Emily Lloyd, Local Democracy Reporter
