Nutrient neutrality rules: government to boost house building & unlock building plots

Housing Secretary Michael Gove is set to scrap nutrient neutrality rules within a matter of months. The rules have effectively caused house building to grind to a halt in some parts of England – including protected areas in Norfolk, Herefordshire, Kent, Somerset, Teesside and more.

According to the House Builder’s Federation, nutrient neutrality has blocked construction of up to 145,000 new homes across 74 local authorities.

The government plans to relax nutrient neutrality requirements via an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which is currently going through parliament.

This should unlock both large-scale developments and thousands of individual self build projects – including many on sites that already have planning permission.

“We are committed to building the homes this country needs and to enhancing our environment,” said Gove. “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.”

What is nutrient neutrality?

Nutrient neutrality is the requirement for a house builder to demonstrate proposed development will not increase the amount of nutrients in waterways such as rivers, estuaries and wetlands. Excess nutrients can promote seasonal algae bloom and damage river ecology.

The issue first hit the headlines in June 2019. Based on its interpretation of EU law, Natural England recommended some councils should not allow developments that would lead to higher levels of phosphorous and nitrates in waterways.

As a result, a near-instant planning moratorium was issued by the likes of Herefordshire Council, preventing construction of thousands of new homes – including many self builds and custom builds.

The government has acknowledged that “nutrients entering our rivers are a real problem, but the contribution made by new homes is very small.”

Nutrient neutrality & house building

In January 2022, a report by the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) identified agricultural run-off and sewage treatment works as the principal causes of excess nutrients in waterways. Nevertheless, come March 2022, a further 42 local authorities were added to the list where development is effectively banned.

In total, Natural England has advised 74 councils not to approve housing schemes in areas affected by river pollution – unless developers can demonstrate nutrient neutrality (or betterment) via mitigation measures.

The House Builder’s Federation believes nutrient neutrality rules are preventing delivery of around 41,000 homes per year. According to the Lichfield report, in Somerset alone, construction of 11,000 houses has been blocked by nutrient neutrality requirements.

The cost and complexity of delivering nutrient mitigation or betterment schemes has been a significant barrier for self builders in affected areas.

How will changing nutrient neutrality rules help self builders?

The government intends to cut the red tape requiring developers to demonstrate how nutrient pollution will be prevented or counteracted, and instead address the key causes “at source”.

As part of this, the government plans to double investment into Natural England’s Nutrient Mitigation Scheme to £280m, and to target measures at agricultural and water companies to reduce waterway pollution.

Exactly when the rules will be relaxed and how it will affect planning applications, drainage approvals etc is yet to be confirmed.

However, self builders can be confident that it will soon be easier and cheaper to gain planning consent and move projects forward in areas currently affected by nutrient neutrality.

We’ll bring you more on this story as the government fleshes out its guidance.