Proposed changes to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill will reduce the level of environmental protection provided for in law and amount to a regression, the Office for Environmental Protection is warning.

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.

The Government has said that once legislation is in place for forthcoming measures in the Levelling up and Regeneration Bill for the upgrade of wastewater treatment works in catchments of Habitats Sites affected by nutrient pollution and development, “decision-makers can be confident the upgrades will be in place by 2030.”

Water UK is warning that a new Government proposal to tackle nutrient pollution in rivers will have the unintended consequence of forcing water companies to rebuild sewage treatment works with solutions that must (without exception) use new concrete and steel – rather than creating woodlands, reed beds and wetlands that can be faster, more effective, and cheaper.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has issued a Direction to Natural England on measures to address nutrient pollution via strategic mitigation schemes which has been implemented with immediate effect.

New plans announced by the Government to help safeguard England’s protected sites by driving down nutrient pollution will place a new legal duty on water companies in England to upgrade wastewater treatment works by 2030 in ‘nutrient neutrality’ areas to the highest achievable technological levels.

Yorkshire Water has announced a £2 million contribution to improving nutrient infiltration into watercourses upstream of Hornsea Mere.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Natural England has launched a new consultation on new, long-term environmental targets announced by the government.

Natural England has downgraded the environmental condition of the Somerset Levels and Moors Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) due to water quality issues - phosphates are causing algal blooms in the Somerset Levels, like Tealham SSSI.