The built environment industry has welcomed government plans to “do away with” the red tape surrounding nutrient neutrality laws in a move that could unblock the delivery of more than 100,000 new homes between now and 2030.
The government said that the “legacy EU laws” were blocking delivery of new homes, even in cases where planning permission had already been granted. It acknowledged that nutrients entering UK rivers were a real problem, but said the contribution made by new homes was very small.
Through an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, the government intends to remove the legislative red tape and free up delivery of new homes within a matter of months.
At the same time, it said new environmental measures would be introduced to tackle pollution at source and restore habitats, with the government intending to double its investment in Natural England’s Nutrient Mitigation Scheme to £280m.
The government added that it “intends to work with the housebuilding industry to ensure that larger developers make an appropriate and fair contribution to this scheme over the coming years, and is discussing the right structure and approach with the Home Builders Federation”.
Michael Gove, secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, said: “We are committed to building the homes this country needs and to enhancing our environment. The way EU rules have been applied has held us back. These changes will provide a multi-billion pound boost for the UK economy and see us build more than 100,000 new homes.
“Protecting the environment is paramount which is why the measures we’re announcing today will allow us to go further to protect and restore our precious waterways whilst still building the much-needed homes this country needs. We will work closely with environmental agencies and councils as we deliver these changes.”
Thérèse Coffey, secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs added: “These new plans will cut nutrients and help support England’s precious habitats whilst unlocking the new homes that local communities need.
“We are going to tackle the key causes of nutrients at source with over £200m of funding to reduce run off from agriculture and plans to upgrade waste water treatment works through conventional upgrades, catchment approaches and nature-based solutions. This builds on the key commitments made in our five-year strategy – our Environmental Improvement Plan – as well as our Plan for Water which brings forward more investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement to protect our rivers.”
Responding to the news, Sam Rees, senior public affairs officer at RICS, said: “RICS welcomes greater clarity, which this amendment in the Levelling-Up Bill provides and should help tackle planning backlogs – something RICS members have repeatedly referenced as a barrier in creating new homes. Overcoming these existing bottlenecks is crucial for meeting housebuilding targets, although we recognise that this cannot come at the detriment of the environment.
“The UK needs further investment towards mitigation and treatment works in our waterways, as well as a push to build greener, more energy-efficient homes that significantly limits resulting pollution.”
Lawrence Turner, firector of Boyer (part of Leaders Romans Group), added: “The government’s announcement this morning could unblock over 100,000 homes via a proposed amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. This could see developers breaking ground on these new housing projects within mere months.
“Indeed, while it’s important to acknowledge the environmental issue of river nutrient levels, the small contribution from new housing developments is wildly disproportionate to the current nutrient neutrality laws.
“Today’s announcement will unlock the delivery of new homes, many of which have already been consented by local authorities. This will hopefully enable new homes to be constructed without the need for developers to fallow large swathes of farmland that takes valuable agricultural land out of production.”
