The UK government’s proposed relaxation of rules on nutrient neutrality in England have received a setback. Our director of planning Dan Hughes updates you on the latest developments.
A proposed amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which would have relaxed planning restrictions around water quality and so-called nutrient neutrality has been knocked back in the House of Lords.
The late amendment was voted down on September 13, after Labour successfully mobilised its members to oppose it. In short, this means that if the government wants to go ahead with relaxing nutrient neutrality rules, it will have to find a different way to do it.
What’s the background to the nutrient neutrality rules?
Nutrient neutrality legislation was first introduced in 2017 under European law to tackle an excess of nutrients within bodies of water, mainly nitrates and phosphates, that contribute towards excess algae growth which can damage ecosystems and harm wildlife.
Water pollution has become a serious issue in the UK. A recent government report revealed that only 14% of English rivers could be described as having ‘good ecological status’ and all rivers were found to have some level of chemical contamination according to the report.
Why has nutrient neutrality been so burdensome for housing developers?
While excess nutrients occur predominantly due to agricultural run-off and wastewater discharges by major utility providers, some of it is also caused by wastewater from housing developments.
As a consequence, Natural England’s advice for local planning authorities has been to require that housing developers show, as part of the planning process, how any additional nutrients produced by new homes would be mitigated in water catchment areas affected by nutrient neutrality.
According to government’s explanatory paper for its proposed amendment, new housing developments have been held up in 27 water catchments spanning 62 local authority areas because of nutrient neutrality.
It estimates that some 16,500 homes per year are caught up in planning delays because of this. That’s despite the Home Builders Federation estimating that the built environment is responsible for less than 5% of the pollution.
How did government want to relax the rules?
The proposed relaxation of nutrient neutrality rules, introduced on August 29, would have made changes to Habitats Regulations so that consideration of nutrient loads in urban waste water is no longer required for planning decision making in areas currently affected by nutrient neutrality.
Instead, the government said it would look at other more targeted environmental measures, such as upgrading wastewater treatment works, to address the nutrient pollution issue.
What does all this mean for the current rules?
The Lords’ rejection of the amendment means the current rules, requiring housing schemes in protected areas to prove they will not increase the amount of nitrogen or phosphorous in rivers, will continue to stand.
Our team at PWA Planning is advising several housebuilders on mitigation and offsetting for developments in areas affected by nutrient neutrality rules, such as where development land falls within river catchments that are part of Special Areas of Conservation.
We’ll continue to keep our clients updated on the latest news around nutrient neutrality. For more information, contact planning director Dan Hughes.
