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No newts is bad news
Leicestershire County Council delayed a road-building scheme for three months after evidence of great crested newts was found on the site. The species is protected by EU law, but after the authority paid hundreds of thousands of pounds for special newt fencing and traps, not one was discovered. Action was taken on the strength of a report from environmental experts, which found there could have been between one and ten of the 6in amphibians on the site.
Officials yesterday lodged a complaint with the government. Council leader David Parsons said: "I'm not happy that we have gone £1m over on the bypass and then found no great crested newts."
Tangled Web blog (Sigrid Rabiger)
Helping the poor
At Victoria's Safer Neighbourhood panel meeting, a representative from the police congratulated the department store John Lewis for making "real physical changes to help combat the homeless problem" by removing the hot air vents from their building.
Against Poverty, London Coalition Against Poverty bulletin (I Rowly)
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