Boris Johnson: former Prime Minister's country house pool plans get the go ahead - no 'newt motel' needed

Boris Johnson will be able to build an outdoor swimming pool at his country manor after all - after his plans were threatened by the potential presence of protected newts in the area.

Earlier this year, the former Prime Minister submitted a planning application to the South Oxfordshire District Council to build an 11-by-four-metre pool at Brightwell Manor - which he shares with wife Carrie and their young children. But the council's countryside officer lodged a holding objection, saying his pool plans could put the local great-crested newt population at risk.

In response, Johnson said he would be delighted if ecological surveys discovered newts in his garden. "I want you to know that I will do whatever it takes to protect them. If we have to build little newt motels to house them in their trips past the swimming pool, then we will," he added.

But it turns out the newt motels will not be needed, with South Oxfordshire District Council this week approving the building work on his estate.

PA reports the planning report published by South Oxfordshire District Council said the applicant would “enhance” an already existing nearby orchard to help compensate for any biodiversity loss from building the pool.

Nearby trees would also need to be protected under the council’s conditions, while Johnson must follow the local authority’s great-crested newt mitigation principles.

The ex-MP had famously taken aim at the native amphibians in 2020, saying delays to construction caused by newt conservation surveys were "a massive drag on the prosperity of this country,” according to the Guardian.

Great-crested newts - the species which the council had thought might be present on Johnson's estate - are protected under the UK's Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981, the key piece of legislation responsible for making sure people do not interfere with endemic plants, animals, and wildlife habitats.

But they are not the only ones, with hundreds of species - from butterflies to basking sharks - listed in the act.

While not endangered, great-crested newts are on the decline, and the UK's population is of international importance. The latest State of Nature report, published on 27 September, found 31% of Britain's amphibians and reptiles are at imminent risk of extinction.