New homes for people and wildlife across the North East
Greener building and conserving wildlife goes hand in hand in the North East as a new approach to sustainable development is launched.
From: Great crested newt. Picture by Jess Welch
Natural England’s district level licensing (DLL) initiative, which better protects great crested newts, while also delivering the Government’s ambitions to build back greener, has been launched in Northumberland, Durham, Tyne & Wear and Tees Valley.
Great crested newts are protected under UK and EU law. It is an offence to disturb the species so developers must apply for a licence before undertaking any building work on or around the places that they live, trapping and relocating the species before starting work.
A vertical mulcher machine is used to clear trees during the restoration of an ancient bog near Kielder Water in Northumberland. The ancient habitat, known as the Border Mires, is under threat from encroaching trees which are being removed as part of a A TIMBER harvester that chips a tree from top to bottom in just a few seconds is being used by Forestry England to speed up restoration of one of the UK’s most important peat habitats. The Border Mires is a network of 55 sphagnum bogs covering 2,800 hectares of Kielder Forest and now, cutting edge technology is playing its part in the form of a so called “vertical mulcher”.
Vertical mulcher rides to rescue of ancient Northumberland peat bog theguardian.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theguardian.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Whittonstall Christine Jewitt It has been an interesting few weeks in Whittonstall as the snow and wind arrived without mercy this month. It’s been some time since we experienced such a volume of the dreaded white stuff and having landed in great powdery quantities the swirling winds took no prisoners and simply gathered up the snow to create amazing drifts, re-blocking many of the minor roads which had only recently been ploughed clear. Trees fell and traffic was halted with only the brave venturing out for a few days. Happily, the snow is gone and better temperatures are coming with a hint of spring on the way.
Northumberland Dark Skies Festival shines light on wonders of the night sky chroniclelive.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chroniclelive.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.