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To: Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The RT Hon Michael Gove MP

Protect Surrey's Last Amphibian Stronghold from Development

Protect the land surrounding the ponds in Woodhill Lane, Shamley Green, Guildford GU5 from Development.
Grant SSSI status to the site.

Why is this important?

The area bounded by Madgehole Lane, Woodhill Land and Stroud Lane in Shamley Green, Guildford contains several connected wetland habitats and ponds and is ideal for amphibians. This is likely to be the best site for amphibians in Surrey as it still has a thriving population. 1500+ animals have been recorded in the spring migration of 2018. It is a very important site for toads, which are listed as a priority species in the Biodiversity Action Plan. Great Crested Newt, a protected species, have also been recorded on site in 2017 and 2018.
A real estate speculator is now trying to divide up part of the land and auction off the individual parcels for inflated prices, under the pretext that buyers can obtain planning permission for development. Any development in this area would damage this safe haven and be devastating to the toads, Crested Newts and other amphibians.
The site is highly significant as a toad habitat and unique for the size of its amphibian population. For this reason we seek to obtain SSSI status for it.

Shamley Green, Guildford

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Updates

2019-02-11 09:54:09 +0000

100 signatures reached

2018-04-13 15:10:55 +0100

50 signatures reached

2018-04-11 22:16:05 +0100

25 signatures reached

2018-04-11 18:53:32 +0100

10 signatures reached