NO HIDING PLACE..

Some months ago I had a rant about the local problem we`re having with newts - please see http://snoppersays.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=Newts.   Since May, the intrepid Clerk of our Parish Council has been pursuing the daunting challenge of opening up a piece of land, currently occupied by allegedly `rare` newts, for us to use as part of our local open space.

It seems there is uncertainty on the part of Kent County Council as to the exact location of what has become known as `Newtland,` which is surprising really as it was KCC who organised the land swap to provide Newtland as compensation for an area we lost when they built the by-pass.

It seems a Land Registry search may be needed to establish the exact location and boundaries of Newtland, although the information provided by the recent Newt Hunt, shown on the map above, might prove useful.   Looking at it, it might be that a gang of Palmate newts are the culprits here.   If so, then they are not really very `rare` in the UK and so could be shifted to some other area, especially as Newt Hunt`s map shows plenty of places where newts already live or where they might like to have a new home of their own.

Of course, such a move would have to be carried out with considerable care, sensitivity and concern for the wellbeing of our amphibian friends and I imagine NewtWatch and the European Court of Newty Rights would need to oversee the move.   But it can be done, despite the fact that newts are notoriously slippery customers, adept at evading capture and, as is happening here in Dibley, leading a merry dance to those who would interfere with their rights to a family life.  

But in the end they can slither but they can`t hide and there should be no hiding place  as they continually frustrate the reasonable attempts of the local populace to have access to a piece of land that is rightfully theirs.