Ed Sheeran is a known animal lover. He once jokingly tattooed a giant lion on his chest, he featured a cuddly kitten in his video and has a menagerie of critters on his property in Suffolk.
His fans rejoiced a few months ago when Sheeran announced his engagement to his childhood love Cherry Seaborn. Apparently, the couple are building a 12-metre-tall, or 40-foot high chapel on the grounds of their home in Suffolk.
The spot where the chapel is to be built is also the home of the great crested newt. Now news outlets are reporting that as a protected species the newt could scuttle Sheeran’s edifice complex plans.
This chapel may be the hill that environmentalists battle Sheeran on with some suggesting that newts are often at the cause of housing and development issues.
The newts are not exactly lovable. They’re toad-like skins are full of bumps and brown. They’re massive. Some of them can reach 16 cm in length. Great crested newts have brown, warty skin and males have a jagged crest along their backs. They are also big, for newts: an adult female can reach 16cm in length. That’s half a foot long.
Newts have also thwarted building plans for other celebrities. Last year, Rod Stewart wanted to build a swimming pool. He also ended up having to build a new habitat for newts at the same time in order to get his development approved on his estate in Essex.
