Newts threaten Boris Johnson’s plan to build swimming pool
Creature railed against by ex-prime minister could thwart planning application for Oxfordshire home
Aubrey Allegretti Chief political correspondent
@breeallegretti
Tue 1 Aug 2023 12.53 BST
Boris Johnson may finally be out of political hot water, but plans to erect an outdoor swimming pool at his Oxfordshire home have been disrupted by a population of great crested newts.
Since
leaving frontline politics, the former prime minister has been keen to press ahead with improvements to the home he purchased in May and has been living in with his wife, Carrie, and their three children.
However, it seems that the
great crested newt, against which Johnson railed when he was in No 10 and accused of being “a massive drag on the prosperity of this country”, has had its revenge.
The UK’s largest newt, which takes its name from the striking jagged crest that males display in the spring breeding season, is a protected species under British law.
As such, an unlimited fine and up to six months in prison could await anyone found guilty of disturbing the newt’s resting places and breeding sites, or taking their eggs.
Johnson launched an application with South Oxfordshire district council in June for the construction of an outdoor pool, measuring 11 metres by 4 metres (36ft x 13ft).
But Edward Church, a local government ecologist who reviewed the application, did not recommend granting permission for the pool to be built because there are great crested newts living in the grounds
