Just 14 percent of English rivers in "good" ecological condition falling to 6% by 2027 according to the Environment Agency. Despite being allowed to "offset" or mitigate the impact of their developments by establishing nature reserves or wetlands, according to developers, in some areas no such projects were possible.Īnd house builders are correct to point out that, in rural areas at least, most of the nutrient pollution is caused by fertiliser and slurry from farms – not human sewage – leaking into rivers.īut we urgently need to clean up rivers too. Removing the obligation on home builders should, the government estimates, see "up to 100,000" new homes being built that otherwise would have been.Īccording to housing and planning experts, nutrient neutrality is, in those areas, the single most significant block to homes being built.Īnd the builders say the rules were genuinely unfair. In more than 60 local authority areas the nutrient neutrality rules have been holding up housing schemes. England desperately needs new homes, especially affordable ones. On the face of it, the "nutrient neutrality" rules needed addressing. Is this a sensible fix to free-up much needed housing developments, or a license for housebuilders to profit from pollution leaving us to pay to clean up the mess? Analysis by Tom Clarke, science and technology editor
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