Published at 11:55, Saturday, 17 May 2008

TINY reptiles are being rehoused at a cost of nearly £1,000 per animal to make way for the docks revamp.

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By Jon Simpson

Urban development firm West Lakes Renaissance and Cumbria County Council are developing a new business park at the docks and are legally obliged to try to protect the creatures.

So far, they have spent more than £100,000 of public money in rounding 110 reptiles – including 46 common lizards and 64 slow worms – and moving them out of the path of the work. Up to now, most have just been moved to another part of the docks.

But other habitats are being developed, including those on the slag banks built with earth from the docks.

The slag heap is made of waste which was created by the big former Hindpool steelworks.

WLR project manager Dennis Laird spoke about the initiative at a neighbourhood forum on Barrow Island.

Mr Laird said: “We are creating these mounds which will eventually regenerate themselves.”

He said they would grow grass native to the area from which reptiles were moved.

Mr Laird said: “The philosophy is if you have to remove reptiles from a site, make sure you can accommodate all the ones you have moved, elsewhere.”

WLR, the county council and contractors Carillion have worked since 2006 to watch out for thereptiles, hiring specialists to round them up and keeping them off the work site with a reptile-proof fence.

WLR regeneration manager Mike Baker said the mounds on the slag bank were a trial habitat.

No final decision has been taken yet for it to become the future home for all reptiles being moved.

Asked if £1,000 a reptile was too high a price, Mr Baker replied: “You could look at cost in terms of £1,000 per creature but this probably should be thought of in terms of ecological mitigation being one per cent of the £11m being spent on the project.

“National legislation on environmental protection now creates a huge burden for any development, public or private, especially in terms of time – effectively months of delay to the Ramsden Business Park project.

“As responsible and concerned citizens of the planet, we would not wish to knowingly harm or adversely affect the natural environment.

“But the balance between the need to demonstrate to bodies – whose only interest is environmental protection – compliance with their often unclear requirements and progress on real beneficial development for human beings, is now skewed too far away from development.”

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