Is the issue of nutrient neutrality being washed downstream?
Following the Government’s announcement earlier this week that “over 100,000 homes held up due to defective EU laws will be unblocked,” proposed changes to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill have now been published.
If adopted, the effect would be to remove the assessment of the the impact of nutrients in urban waste water from the majority of planning applications. The timetable for this change to take effect will be subject to secondary legislation, the details of which are (of course!) awaited and subject to the Bill receiving Royal Assent.
The Government’s justification for this proposed change is that the contribution made by new homes to nutrients in our rivers is very small. Set in the context of the country’s housing shortage, the Government’s position is that nutrient neutrality “red tape” must go. Other proposals in the Bill see Westminster looking to tackle the other causes of nutrient pollutants, such as requiring water companies to upgrade waste water treatment works to the highest achievable level in areas under nutrient neutrality guidance.
It is widely accepted that urban waste water only accounts for a small fraction of the nutrient pollutants in our waterways (farm land and the lack of investment in our water infrastructure being other key contributors). The country’s housing crisis is also undeniable. So, the rationality of the Government’s decision can be understood. With at least 74 Local Planning Authorities having been advised by Natural England that future development may need to be nutrient neutral, and areas of the country already in a development hiatus because of this issue, it is likely there will be much support for the proposed changes.
However, with the next reading of the Bill being only days away on 4 September 2023, it will be interesting to see how these last minute changes are received. It also calls into question how the issue of housing and nutrient neutrality will ultimately be dealt with, and raises a question mark over the status of schemes, such as Natural England’s Nutrient Mitigation Scheme, which has only recently got off the ground. Voices on the other side of the fence are keen to point out that there are many consented developments not coming forward due to the challenges of the current economic climate. Lifting the nutrient neutrality red tape is therefore no guarantee that new housing will come. It is merely the removal of one of the barriers to delivery which, for many, will be at unjustifiable expense to the environment.
Subcribe to news and viewsWhen making the relevant decision, the competent authority must assume that nutrients in urban waste water from the potential development, whether alone or in combination with other factors, will not adversely affect the relevant site.
https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/52407/documents/3872