Newt cost £40,000

THE finding of a great crested newt on a silt dumping site means that the restoration of a canal will cost £40,000 more!

The convenience of the newt, that must not be interfered with, not only means that the silt must now be moved much further to another site, but work on a section of the Cromford Canal has been delayed two months whilst it was all sorted out, Alan Tilbury tells us.

Once again

Once again the newts have interfered with the restoration of a waterway, having the same effect on the Ashby Canal when newts were discovered by a bridge during restoration.

Perhaps members of the canal society were hoping for more herons, who seem to find the great crested a tasty morsel.

Long distance

It was the Derbyshire County Council project to dredge a section of Cromford Canal,originally estimated to cost £300,000, that will cost another £40,000, with the spoil having to be taken a long distance from the waterway to be dumped, though it surely would have saved such expense simply to remove the newt.

The delay means that the trip boat is unable to use the section.