A village in Oxfordshire fearful of the housing of asylum seekers in the area could be saved by the potential presence of a protected newt.
Newts could save the day… (Image: Getty)
Residents of a village that voted to break away from the UK in a symbolic protest against the potential housing of 1,257 illegal immigrants could be saved by a newt.
The development comes just a day after residents of Piddington, Oxfordshire, voted to secede from the UK in objection to the site.
Now new reporting has revealed that the Home Office may have made a catastrophic blunder by saying that there was no evidence of protected animals at the site.
Campaigners in the sleepy village say that mandarins will need to redo their ecological assessment of the site, and introduce measures to move the newts.
If they do not, the Home Office could be open to a legal challenge from locals keen on saving the protected newt species.
Claire Brenner, a resident of the village with a zoology degree, told The Telegraph: “If the Secretary of State determines this application with this materially incomplete information, that’s open to legal challenge.
“If they proceed to work on the site without a licence, then potentially it’s a wildlife crime.”
Residents voted overwhelmingly to break away from the UK in an unofficial referendum last night.
One resident even told this paper they had told the White House they wanted to become another US state.
Locals fear that the opening of the all-male site will threaten the safety of villagers, who will be outnumbered by around four to one.
Ms Brenner told the Daily Telegraph that the Home Office ecological assessment was “not fit for purpose” as its claim that there were “no records” of at least five different types of protected wildlife around and on the site was wrong.
She claimed there was evidence of a breeding population of great crested newts on the site, which she said could be a “huge problem” for the Home Office.
They are a European protected species under the law, so that means any developer would have to halt work and conduct surveys if there is any record or evidence of their presence.
Janet Chamdal, chairman of Wrong Plan, Wrong Site, said the campaign, run by 15 volunteers, was “non-political, evidence-based and respectful for the people seeking asylum.”
Andy Burnham plotting new holiday tax raid – £3k per family
The Labour Government could tax families thousands.
Andy Burnham could tax families thousands for holidays (Image: Getty)
The Labour Government is considering plans for a tax raid on holiday cottages. John Healey is considering taxing holiday lets as second homes rather than as businesses in his maiden Autumn Budget on October 28.
It will add thousands of pounds to the cost of running them, with Alistair Handyside, chairman of the Professional Association of Self-Caterers, saying it could add between £1,000 and £3,000.
It could also have a knock-on effect on businesses around holiday lets, such as local pubs, restaurants, independent shops, and other tourism-related companies. This could mean Brits see increased prices or limited availability.
Richard Fuller, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said: “Labour has launched a £9bn business rates raid, compounding the damage done by its jobs tax and employer red tape.
John Healey will give his Autumn Budget on October 28 (Image: Getty)
“Now it is looking for ways to pull more and more people into scope for its crippling taxes, including with a holiday cottage tax. Labour should focus less on squeezing taxpayers dry and more on cutting the welfare bill so we can cut taxes and grow our economy.”
James Murray, a junior Treasury minister, confirmed in a written parliamentary answer that his department was reviewing “the tax treatment of short-term lets, such as self-catering accommodation”.
He said “concerns have been raised” about second-home owners using small business rates relief to manage tax liabilities. The shake-up could mean that all self-catered accommodation is subject to council tax rather than business rates.
Alistair Handyside, chairman of the Professional Association of Self-Caterers, said: “The average self-catering business owns 1.2 properties and it is usually a second income, often run by working mothers or retired people, who have already been hit by 25 Government interventions in the past four years.
“The self-catering sector is already declining, and a lot of people will decide it’s just not worth it any more. I can tell you that the Government already takes more money out of my business every year than my wife and I do.
“What the Government doesn’t realise is that holiday lets provide the bed space for people visiting areas that don’t have the hotel spaces that London and big cities have.
“If the bed spaces decline, so does the local economy, because pubs, restaurants, butchers, all sorts of businesses only stay in profit because of the annual influx of tourists.
“So I would just say to the Government, be careful what you wish for.”
A Treasury spokesman said: “The Chancellor is fully focused on his priorities, to give families and businesses a bit of breathing space, back British jobs, and drive growth in every postcode, underpinned by a commitment to meet the fiscal rules.
“As has always been the case, decisions on tax are a matter for the Chancellor to set out at fiscal events, rather than routinely commenting on rumour, speculation or proposals.”