BOLTON NEWS (UK) 29 March 08 Rare newts delay Daisy Hill supermarket plan (Lucy Ewing)
Work on a multi-million-pound supermarket could be delayed - because of a colony of protected newts.
Sainsbury's was given the go-ahead by Bolton Council to build a new store on the site of Westhoughton Cricket Club.
But one of the planning conditions was that the cricket club had to be relocated to land at The Hoskers, Daisy Hill, before work could start on the £7.5 million store.
Now it has been discovered that great crested newts have made the long grass at The Hoskers their home.
The species is protected under British and EU law and it is illegal to capture, kill it or disturb its habitat.
Preparatory work at The Hoskers was due to start next month, in time for the supermarket development, in Cricketers Way, to begin in April next year.
But the amphibians, which are four to five inches in size, will have to be rehomed before work can start on the new cricket club. Anyone intending to move them needs a licence from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Reports last month revealed that Manchester Airport, which is owned by Greater Manchester's 10 local councils, had spent more than £1 million over five years to protect newts living near its second runway. Before the runway opened in 2001, £3 million had been spent rehoming 4,500 newts and 30,000 other amphibians.
Martin Walker, conservation officer for Lancashire Wildlife Trust, said the creatures are protected because they are extremely rare.
He said: "The great-crested newt is extremely rare on a European scale. They are protected in the UK because we have some of the best habitats for them and the North-west is particularly good.
"Unfortunately, they are decreasing in number because we are losing so many ponds and marshy areas."
The creatures live in long marshy grassland, but need to be near to ponds so they can breed.
A spokesman for Sainsbury's said they were not over-concerned about the land's inhabitants.
She said: "If surveys prove to find great crested newts on The Hoskers site they will be relocated to appropriate surroundings.
"We remain confident that the relocation of Westhoughton Cricket Club will commence in May this year, ensuring the new club will be open for the start of the 2009 season."
A Bolton Council spokesman said: "It is understood that appropriate investigations have revealed the presence of great crested newts on the site and the developer is now arranging for the newts to be captured and suitably relocated."
Rare newts delay Daisy Hill supermarket plan