Piddington parish councillor pledges to ‘stand up for newts’ as it emerged migrant camp plans could be scrapped over protected species

A Piddington parish councillor has pledged to “stand up for newts” as it emerged plans for a major migrant camp could face a planning obstacle over protected species.

Speaking to GB News, Joe Marshall said the parish council had identified serious deficiencies in the Home Office's planning application for the site, including what he described as inadequate ecological assessments.

In planning to house more than 1,000 migrants near the small Oxfordshire community, the Home Office's ecological assessment determined there was no evidence of any protected newts, bats or reptiles in the area.

However, qualified zoologist Dr Claire Brenner identified at least five different protected wildlife species around the site, including the great-crested newt, and has branded the Home Office assessment “not fit for purpose”.

Great crested newts are a European protected species under UK law, forcing developers to stop work if evidence of their presence is found.

Discussing the potential delay, Mr Marshall said previous applications dating back to 2002 and 2010, as well as a nearby traveller site, had detected “lots and lots of newts” in the area.

He said: “One of the primary areas that we've picked up as part of our appraisal of the application and our objection, which is circa 200 pages, is that they've failed to assess the ecology on the site suitably.”

“Lots and lots of newts were detected. And that leads us to the conclusion that there is almost definitely going to be newts on that site.”

Mr Marshall claimed the Home Office could breach planning and environmental laws if it pushes the development through without properly assessing the site's ecology.

He said the parish council had submitted 15 separate objections to the proposals.

Asked whether it was frustrating that concerns about protected species could carry more weight in a planning process than residents' concerns about safety, Mr Marshall replied: “Yeah, absolutely."

“Realistically, let's face it, if they were present 20 years ago on the site, that's not had an awful lot happening,” he added.

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“The probability is they've flourished; they've had a great life. And there's an amazing community of newts there, which we want to ensure are obviously protected under their statutory protections.”

He then joked: “The newt is our national animal. So we're really standing up for newts.”

However, Mr Marshall stressed ecology was just one of the parish council's objections and said personal safety was not included because it “doesn't give any weight in a planning discussion”.

He said: “We've got 15 objection points.”

“The application is deficient in a number of areas, but ecology is a large green site. It's not barracks, so developing a large green site raises major environmental and ecological concerns and risks.

“On an application like this, it's a major development. We would wish, and we would expect the Home Office to provide the basic assessments,” he said.

“The assessment that they have undertaken was undertaken outside the optimum survey window.

“It was undertaken from a single walkover. They haven't been inside any of the areas of development. So they cannot be sure that this isn't present.”

The news comes just days after Piddington voted overwhelmingly to split from the UK in a bombshell referendum.

The Home Office said: "The Government is closing every asylum hotel, saving taxpayers over £1billion on asylum support since the election.

"We are working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country, moving asylum seekers into alternative accommodation, including former military sites which are designed to be self-contained to reduce impact on the local community.

"While no final decision has yet been taken on the site, we routinely undertake detailed assessments to identify any outstanding requirements before any decisions are made."

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