Water, water everywhere – so don’t even think about building near it!
The House of Lords has rejected the Government’s proposed amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill (LURB), permitting development where nutrient neutrality has been cited as an issue. It has been estimated that 145,000 new homes could be built by 2030 if nutrient neutrality regulations are loosened.
The government announced plans to relax these rules through an amendment to the LURB, currently going through the Lords. Because of the late stage at which the Government introduced the change, it now cannot try again in the Commons. Ministers would need to bring the proposal forward in a new bill.
A cross-party coalition led a rebellion in the Lords to defeat the Government in the vote. This is despite Natural England’s own admission that “the risk from new homes is very small” and Government’s own research finding agricultural run-off and the inaction of water companies to maintain infrastructure to be the main causes of the nutrient neutrality issue.
The Home Builders Federation says that maintaining restrictions in affected areas “will do nothing to improve the shocking state of our rivers, polluted by agricultural run-off and the failings of water companies, but will exacerbate our housing crisis still further.
“With growing waiting lists, a generation unable to buy, local economies damaged, and jobs lost, the mishandling of this issue is a national disgrace.”
It also said it was “a damning indictment that after four years politicians have completely failed to find a solution. Despite the occupants of new homes making a negligible contribution to the issue, and housebuilders giving water companies over £1 billion in the past three years alone, the impasse goes on.”
David Churchill, partner at Carter Jonas, comments: “With an amendment to LURB now out of the question and the only route to a solution supposedly being new primary legislation (to be announced in the King’s Speech in November) we face many more years of delay – I anticipate a doubling of the backlog.
“What is very disappointing is that immediate solutions have been overlooked. For example, the use of levies and CPO to deliver new wetlands as a form of mitigation – as has been used successfully elsewhere.
“It would have the added benefits of removing the poor-quality agricultural land which requires more fertilizer from agricultural use and delivering more biodiversity. We don’t lack the land, or the will of the landowners to address the problem, but something so vast cannot be achieved on a piecemeal basis”.
Research shows that housebuilders have given water companies over £1bn in the past three years to ensure infrastructure is in place to facilitate new homes – something they have failed to deliver. This comes as the Office for Environmental Protection admits that the Government and regulators have broken the law by not keeping sewage companies in check.
Despite this housebuilder funding, and new homes making a negligible contribution to the problem, a moratorium remains in place in 74 local authority areas. While housebuilding has been blocked by Natural England, Defra’s figures suggest that 60-80% of phosphorus entering rivers comes from a failure of water companies to effectively treat wastewater.
