Government's designation of nutrient catchment areas

I was asked a question on a post by Simon MacFarlane. My response was too long for the comment box, so I'll try and answer the questions here in so far as I understand the detail.

The benefits associated with the upgrades count from now, and local authorities are required to assume that the improvements will be delivered by 1 April 2030. This cannot be disputed by the local authority, the water company, Natural England or the Guards Armoured Division. However, if you, or the local authority, is uncertain if a development connects to an exempt WWTW because it serves a settlement with a population equivalent of fewer than 2,000 people then you will need to wait for the limited exemption process to be completed.

If the water company doesn't deliver the upgrades in time, it will fall foul of the Environmental Damages Regulations. This is an important safeguard.

The LURA does require the Secretary of State to provide a list of all these WWTWs. This is expected by April.

We know that the Poole Harbour SAC has several small WWTW that are exempt. HBF is calling on the government to direct that these are also improved, to help relieve the serious issue of delay there.

I understand that the government, as required by the LURA, has published a map of the catchments and where the WWTW are located. I will look into this and provide a link.

The improvements will not provide neutrality, but hopefully, and depending on the WWTW in question, they will go a long way towards doing so. Housebuilders will still be required to procure solutions to close the gap. How great the gap is will vary. I'm told it could be pretty great in some areas. I'm very interested in people's experience of this. Please contact me with your case studies.

Answering Simon's last question, if there are no mitigation solutions available locally, then achieving nutrient neutrality will remain a major problem. This is why the government is investing ￡110,000,000 of taxpayers money to help stimulate the market in nature based solutions.