Over 100,000 homes held up due to ‘defective’ EU laws will be unblocked between now and 2030, delivering an estimated £18 billion boost to the economy, the government has announced.

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 rivers are a real problem, but the contribution made by new homes is very small, say the government. These laws put a block on new homes in certain areas.

Through an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, the government will remove this restriction and allow for the delivery of more than 100,000 new homes.

The move comes alongside new environmental measures that will tackle pollution at source and aims to restore habitats. This includes significantly expanding investment in and evolving the Nutrient Mitigation Scheme run by Natural England, doubling investment to £280m 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 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.

The government will then accelerate work on full site restoration through further work on new Protected Site Strategies, which Natural England will draw up in partnership with local communities to set protected sites on the path to recovery in the most affected catchments with the highest housing demand.

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 said: “These new plans will cut nutrients and help support England’s precious habitats whilst unlocking the new homes that local communities need.

“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 wastewater 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.”

Alongside the amendments tabled to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which is currently in the House of Lords, the government has announced a series of new environmental measures to restore protected sites. This includes a commitment to offset the very small amount of additional nutrients attributable to up to 100,000 new homes. Beyond the immediate action that will be driven by Natural England’s Nutrient Mitigation Scheme, this package includes:

• Committing to further work on developing Protected Sites Strategies in the catchments most impacted by nutrient neutrality and with the most acute housing pressures. These plans will help identify specific action needed to restore habitats and species in specific areas. The aim is to agree and implement tangible actions to reduce pollution at source, through nature-based solutions such as wetlands and new innovations.
• Reducing nutrients entering the water from new development with new laws expected to drive significant investment from water companies to upgrade wastewater treatment works to the highest technical standards by 2030. The next water company investment cycle will be among the biggest and most ambitious ever.
• Conducting at least 4,000, inspections on farms each year – making sure that slurry and other sources of nutrients are being handled in a way that minimises pollution of the water environment.
• Reducing nutrient run off into rivers from farms – supporting farmers by investing £200m in grants for improved slurry storage infrastructure and precision spreading equipment. This makes a further £166m available for new investment into slurry infrastructure.
• Investing £25m to drive innovation to help farmers manage plant and soil nutrients. This will increase resilience, reduce input costs and improve productivity as part of a more circular economy for nutrients. The effective use of waste has the potential to create new revenue streams. The government will also consult this year on modernising fertiliser product standards to drive increased use of organic and recycled nutrients.
• Introducing from 2024 payment premiums into environmental land management schemes. This will accelerate take-up of certain high priority options, including those that provide benefits for water quality.
• Publishing a River Wye action plan this Autumn to tackle the unique issues in Herefordshire.
• Ensuring new homes built do not place undue stress on already stressed local water networks by consulting this year on new requirements where needed for Sustainable Drainage Solutions to reduce pressure on storm overflows from new homes and flood risk.

All of this builds on the Plan for Water, which sets out measures to transform and integrate the water system, address sources of pollution and boost water supplies through more investment, stronger regulation, and tougher enforcement.

The nutrient reduction plan will also help deliver on the government’s legal target to reduce nutrient runoff from agriculture by at least 40% by 2038, and by 15% in nutrient neutrality catchments by 2028, and to reduce phosphorus loadings from wastewater by 80% by 2038, and by 50% by 2028.

Changes to nutrient neutrality rules and wider planning reforms will allow the government to go further towards its target of delivering one million homes this Parliament.