Planning Conditions Discharged

It has been a struggle, but at last we have the green light from New Forest District Council to start construction. There have been many hurdles to overcome including finding solutions to surface water drainage and creating an acceptable landscape scheme. Because the site was formerly part of the clay workings for the old brickyard, there are also concerns about potential contamination as nobody knows quite what lurks beneath the surface.

By far the biggest problem has been creating a relocation plan for the colonies of common lizards that were discovered during a ecological survey of the site. We have had to create an approved plan for how the site is excavated initially so that we can temporarily move the lizards out of the construction area before creating special new reptile friendly areas called hibernacula around the perimeter where they can re-colonise and hibernate during the winter.

Now that we have finally satisfied all of the pre-commencement conditions we are at last in a position to appoint a contractor and get the construction of our new home under way.

Exciting times for Delichon!