Funding for pond restoration

Norfolk Wildlife Solutions Advisers can advise on the management and restoration of ponds on your land and help find ways to fund this wildlife-friendly work.  

Following a free site visit, our Advisers will be able to confirm if your pond restoration is eligible for funding via Natural England’s District Level Licensing scheme. If suitable, we can organise and oversee all pond restoration work at no cost to the landowner.  

Norfolk Wildlife Solutions is a delivery body for Natural England’s District Level Licensing scheme (DLL), a landscape-scale scheme designed to compensate for the impacts of development on great crested newt habitat.  

The DLL funding can be used to restore both existing ponds that have become overgrown or neglected, and ‘ghost’ ponds that have been previously filled in.

The scheme can pay for 100% of the cost of pond restoration work, including tree/scrub removal, excavation work, and pre and post work surveys which can be undertaken by Norfolk Wildlife Solutions. This restoration work can either be done by landowners themselves, or via experienced contractors. The work is organised by Norfolk Wildlife Solutions and there is very little paperwork required.

Ponds restored under the DLL scheme are also eligible for funding to carry out periodic maintenance over the next 25 years. Monitoring will be carried out by Norfolk Wildlife Solutions staff, with landowner consent, a maximum of once per year.

Scheme eligibility

To be eligible for Natural England’s DLL funding, the restored ponds need to provide high-quality habitats, suitable for breeding great crested newts. The restored ponds must have good water quality, minimal disturbance from humans, dogs, livestock, and waterfowl, and should be located within Natural England’s Strategic Opportunity Areas.

Get in contact with us to assess whether your pond falls within an eligible area. 

Funding criteria

Existing ponds:

• should be in need of restoration via mud removal and/or tree/scrub clearance.
• should not have great crested newts in them currently (NWS can do a records check for this).

Restorations and new ponds (after the work is completed):

• should hold water through at least two summers in three on average.
• should be between 150 and 1,000 square metres in size.
• should be between 1 and 3.5 metres in depth at the deepest point, and preferably shallow-sided.
• have at least a 3-metre buffer around the pond if located near sources of nutrients or pollution.
• should not be connected to ditches or land drains, to ensure the best possible water quality.
• should not have fish present, to maximise the widest range of biodiversity in the pond. 

Contact us for more information about funding for pond restoration