Later today the government is due to announce new rules on nutrient neutrality which will unblock 160,000 new homes.
Prior to the General Election the Labour government prevented the Conservatives attempts to rip up ‘nutrient neutrality’ rules, but now they have risen to power they have begun changing environmental protections to enable the construction of more properties.
Deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, and environment secretary, Steve Reed, have written to environmental groups claiming that the current planning rules are ‘not working’ and they need to find new ways to kickstart housing developments that have been put on hold. To do this, authorities have remarked that under the new planning bill – which was announced in last week’s King’s speech – developers will be able to start work and agree mitigations during construction rather than beforehand. This idea has cast concerns as it could result in severe environmental protections.
In the letter to environmental groups, Reed and Rayner wrote: ‘When it comes to the planning system’s role in providing the nature and housing we need, we know the status quo is not working.
‘We want to use the value gained from enabling development to proceed quickly and smoothly to support nature recovery – and to do so in a way that gives everyone involved greater certainty.’
‘Nature recovery remains a top priority alongside the need to overhaul the planning system, grow the economy and reach net zero,’ Rayner and Reed added. ‘This is not a matter of choosing one of these priorities over another. Sustained economic growth depends upon a healthy natural environment.’
However, last year Labour defeated the Conservative’s attempt to allow councils to set aside rules that meant developers couldn’t complete projects that couldn’t properly show they wouldn’t increase levels of phosphorus or nitrogen in waterways. This prompted Tory accusations that Labour would never be successful in delivering millions of homes and now that the party are set to change environmental regulations they have been accused of hypocrisy.
Ahead of the plans being revealed later, Lawrence Turner, director of Boyer, has expressed his thoughts.
Turner said: ‘It is widely expected that government will soon formally announce that the issue of phosphates blocking housing development will be tackled by the introduction of new legislation introduced as part of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
‘The Labour government has proposed changes to environmental protections in order to unblock 160,000 homes that have been put on hold due to current rules regarding nutrient neutrality near rivers. Ministers Angela Rayner and Steve Reed have acknowledged the need for a new approach, stating that the current rules are not working effectively.
‘Under the proposed model, developers would be allowed to begin construction on housing projects that increase phosphates or nitrates in river catchments, with the understanding that mitigations will be agreed upon and implemented during the construction phase rather than developers having to fund or introduce complicated and often prohibitively costly mitigation themselves for agreement before planning permission is granted. This new approach aims to speed up development without compromising environmental protections.’
‘Labour has emphasised the importance of proper consultation with environmental groups in order to ensure that the changes to the nutrient neutrality rules achieve the desired outcomes of both enabling development and supporting nature recovery. The proposed changes are expected to be included in the planning bill announced in the recent King’s Speech and Labour ministers are hopeful that this will kickstart the stalled housing projects,’ Turner added. ‘While the Conservatives may accuse Labour of hypocrisy, having previously vetoed similar Conservative plans in the House of Lords, Labour ministers say they are confident that they can find a “win-win” solution for both home building and environmental conservation. The introduction of legislation is the most effective way of dealing with the phosphate issue and the proposed changes reflect Labour’s commitment to kickstarting the economy through a housebuilding boom.’
Images: Pasi Jormalainen and Lawrence Turner
The likely impact of the new nutrient neutrality rules on the supply of new homes
North East firm named first UK developer to secure nutrient neutrality credits