Free ponds for landowners in Lancashire

Matthew Swift

Marketing Officer for LWT. I enjoy relaxing walks where nature can be appreciated in all its natural splendour. Moreover, I am resolutely passionate about our local area and all the wonderful wildlife and natural beauty contained within it.

Linda Pitkin/2020VISION

Learn how The District Level Licensing Scheme can bring a vast array of wildlife to your land at absolutely no cost to you.

Fresh water ponds aren’t just pretty features, they are a vital wildlife habitat which support a whole host of wildlife including amphibians, dragonflies, birds, mammals and insects plus many more.

If you own land in Lancashire there’s a unique opportunity available to have a pond created or restored on your property for free, through the District Level Licensing Scheme.

District Level Licensing: Species Distribution Modelling explainer (for great crested newts) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McljEIsFaJw)

Why get a pond through District Level Licensing?

The creation or restoration of ponds is completely free and adds a wonderful natural feature to your land, for both people and wildlife. The addition of a pond will greatly enhance the biodiversity and habitat value of your land, benfiting a whole host of species well beyond just great crested newts.

Rather wonderfully as part of the scheme up to six ponds can be applied for on one land holding, and there's an extra incentive for requesting two or more. This means your land can be transformed into a thriving nature hotspot in a relatively short space of time and importantly support wildlife recovery across our region.

How much space do I need?

All ponds produced under the scheme must be a minimum size of 150sqm, therefore the size of your land must exceed the minimum size of pond required.

What land is eligible?

To be considered for a District Level Licensing Scheme your land should be within a strategic opportunity area (areas which will most effectively support the long-term survival and connectivity of great crested newt populations) populations.for pond creation. Exisiting ponds can be restored, especially if they are overgrown, poorly functioning or in need of improvement. Please note that any new ponds must be sited where wildlife can potentially thrive, close to good terrestrial habitat.

See if your land is deemed suitable on the Natural Englnd website, learn more here

Each application is considered individually, so early contact helps get the process started as efficently as possible.

What is The District Level Licensing Scheme?

The District Level Licensing Scheme is a conservation programme led locally by the Wildlife Trusts on behalf of Natural England.

The scheme helps to create and restore wildlife ponds across our region in areas where they can do the most good, particularly for protected amphibians like the great crested newt.

How the scheme works:

The Trust (as your habitat delivery body) carries out checks on your land to see if it’s within a strategic opportunity area. If suitable, you’ll be sent a landowner agreement to sign, this is not legally binding but covers habitat management for up to 25 years. A pond then gets created or restored under scheme guidance by our team, and initial monitoring happens three months after completion. Long-term monitoring (including water sampling for newt DNA testing) and funded maintenance checks also occur through the agreement term. This means no cost to you, the work and long-term care are fully supported through the scheme.

What to do if you would like to be considered for this amazing opportunity

Please include a grid reference or postcode for your land, and a map or sketch detailing the location of the proposed pond on your land. This information helps our teams check eligibilty and strategic opportunity before arranging a visit.