Ed Sheeran halts building chapel in back garden to search for endangered newts

Singer Ed Sheeran has been forced to postpone the building of a chapel on his estate, in order to search for the nationally-protected great crested newt that might live there.

Sheeran, 27, planned to have a private chapel constructed on his Suffolk estate but was informed that officials would need to check the area for the endangered newt before any building work could begin.

The Shape of You singer had already submitted a request for the erection of a chapel to Suffolk Coastal District Council before he was told experts would need to investigate the entire area for the protected amphibians.

Great crested newts were reportedly seen in the area circa 2015 and, according to the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, the area ‘could be breeding sites for this species’.

Under current UK law, it’s illegal to kill or intentionally harm, disturb, or obstruct this particular breed of newt.

Speaking on behalf of Apex Planning Consultants, Paul Smith said: ‘The applicant [Sheeran] has responded promptly to this matter and has also commissioned an appropriate survey that will identify the presence of great crested newts or otherwise, propose mitigation measures as appropriate and recommend measures to enhance biodiversity.

‘We were not aware of the historical presence of great crested newts nearby and certainly believe that none exist in the pond nearby to the application site.’

Sheeran recently announced his engagement to his long-term partner Cherry Seaborn at the beginning of 2018, with the assumption being the singer will get married in his own back yard, so to speak, and the couple would need a marriage license to do so.

‘Got myself a fiance,’ he caption an Instagram post back in January.

Some locals are worried that the building of the chapel will attract unwanted media attention on the land that is far from any accessible road. But Smith said: ‘We do not agree that at such distance from public land and views it will generate the attention he (the objector) purports,’ he said, in relation to concerns for the wildlife and nature of the surrounding estate.

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