The Government has confirmed its plan to relax nutrient neutrality rules by amending the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill – saying that “over 100,000 homes held up due to defective EU laws will be unblocked between now and 2030” as a result.

A statement released by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities says:

“Currently, legacy EU laws on nutrient neutrality are blocking the delivery of new homes, including cases where planning permission has already been granted. Nutrients entering our rivers are a real problem, but the contribution made by new homes is very small. These laws which originate from Brussels put a block on new homes in certain areas - taking away control over what is built, and when, from local people.

“Through an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, the Government will do away with this red tape and allow for the delivery of more than 100,000 new homes desperately needed by local communities. Thanks to the government’s action, it is expected that developers could begin construction on these homes in a matter of months.”

According to the Government, the move comes alongside new environmental measures that will tackle pollution at source and restore habitats including a significant expansion of investment in and evolving the Nutrient Mitigation Scheme run by Natural England. Investment will be doubled to £280 million to ensure it is sufficient to offset “the very small amount of additional nutrient discharge attributable to up to 100,000 homes between now and 2030.”

Natural England will work with local authorities, the private sector and others to tackle nutrient pollution and work towards the long term health and resilience of the river systems. The Government said it also intends to work with the house building 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.

Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove MP 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.”

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Thérèse Coffey added:

“We are going to tackle the key causes of nutrients at source with over £200 million 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.”

According to the Government, new laws are expected to drive significant investment from water companies to upgrade wastewater treatment works to the highest technical standards by 2030. The upcoming water company 2025-30 AMP8 investment cycle will be “among the biggest and most ambitious ever.”

The statement says:

“The current EU-derived regulations have required Natural England to issue guidance to 62 local authority areas that new development must be ‘nutrient neutral’ in their area, including Somerset, Norfolk, Teesside, Kent, Wiltshire and the Solent. This has blocked or delayed new development – including around a large number of homes that already have planning permission and local communities have already said they want.

“The amendment today will remove this requirement, allowing Natural England greater freedom to develop catchment-specific solutions to the causes of nutrient pollution in partnership with each community, supported by government and private investment.“

Executive Chairman of the Home Builders Federation, Stewart Baseley welcomed the announcement, commenting :

‘Today’s very welcome announcement has the potential to unlock housing delivery across the country, from Cornwall to the Tees Valley, where housebuilding has been blocked despite wide acknowledgement that occupants of new homes are responsible for only a tiny fraction of the wastewater finding its ways into rivers and streams.

‘The industry is eager to play its part in delivering mitigation and protecting our waterways. We look forward to engaging with government on the right way to do so, now that ministers are acting upon the arguments that builders both large and small have been making for so long.

‘With some areas having been blighted for four years, the prospect of a swift resolution will be much-needed good news for companies on the verge of going out of business, their employees and for households most affected by housing affordability pressures. Builders will be able to bring forward otherwise stalled investment in communities and get spades in the ground so we need Parliament to get this solution onto the statute book.’

David Thomas, CEO Barratt Developments added:

“As the leading national sustainable housebuilder, we welcome the government’s commitment to tackle the disproportionate rules preventing much-needed and efficient new homes from being built including 2,500 Barratt currently has stalled. Alongside plans to mitigate the relatively limited impact of new build housing, we welcome the further commitment to tackling nutrient pollution at source in agriculture and industry and the much needed planned improvements in our water infrastructure.”

Cllr Sam Chapman-Allen, Chairman of the District Councils’ Network described the action to tackle the unintended impact of nutrient neutrality rules on local housebuilding as “excellent news for district councils” , adding that the District Councils’ Network has been calling for the Government to act “to take the burden of cleaning up our rivers away from councils.”