Funded Pond Conservation Project

Funding is available for restoring old ponds and digging new ponds in certain parts of Cambridgeshire which fall into strategic areas for great crested newts. 

Orwell qualifies for this funding as some of the land around the village is deemed to be especially suitable habitat for bolstering and connecting existing populations of this endangered species. As such, we are seeking landowners who are prepared to dig or restore wildlife ponds on their land.

The project is part of Natural England's District Level Licencing scheme (DLL) - a strategic approach to licensing for great crested newts, which seeks to provide bigger, better and more joined up habitat for this orange-bellied amphibian at a landscape scale. The ponds restored and created under the scheme will not only provide high quality habitat for newts; they will benefit numerous other pond-associated species. Most of the 150 or so pond projects we’ve delivered under the scheme to date have been fully funded – you can view some of these ponds at our website: www.fwageast.org.uk/ponds

We have written a short article (attached) to explain the scheme to villagers. We would be very grateful if you could email this to your parishioners/ raise it at you next council meeting/ place it in your parish newsletter, so that we can reach other landowners who may have suitable land, for example, local farmers, smallholders, large rural garden owners, land-based businesses, and parish-owned land.

Please feel free to get in touch if you would like to discuss, require any further details or photos to go with the story.

Many thanks for your time and best wishes,

The FWAG East Ponds Team

FWAG East Consultancy Ltd

Church Farm

Maris Lane

Trumpington

Cambridge CB2 9LG