OXFORD City Council has said another search for great crested newts will be carried out near a site earmarked for new homes after a local man said he saw some of the creatures there. A man from Blackbird Leys said he spotted the protected newts in the pond at Spindleberry Park, just a stone's throw from a field off Knights Road where the council and Catalyst Housing are planning to build 80 homes. The housing development is part of the Blackbird Leys £100 million regeneration plan, but great crested newts (GCN) are a protected species according to the Government’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.