The on-going nutrient neutrality crisis

This is my third instalment of the on-going nutrient saga which has been slowly gathering pace, momentum and, unfortunately, much frustration since 2018. So as a recap, in November 2018, the European Court of Justice issued a judgment that was to send shockwaves through the development industry and local authorities across the, as then, EU member states. The Dutch case in effect set new, higher environmental standards for developers to protect sensitive habitats, such as EU Special Protection Areas (SPAs), Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and RAMSAR sites.

By June 2019, Natural England set out their position in relation to the case by issuing new guidance to councils initially in the Solent region. This guidance took a much tougher stance on pollutants which were deemed to enrich the nutrient load on sensitive water courses which may lead to eutrophication (e.g. nitrates and phosphates). This essentially encourages algal blooms that can starve a body of water of oxygen and therefore kill aquatic species. Whilst it is acknowledged that much of this load comes from intensive agriculture (e.g. fertilisers), Natural England raised fresh concerns that the final effluent from sewage treatment works was also likely to add to this load. Specifically, effluent generated as a result of new development whereby the output from sewage works would proportionally increase as a result of occupation of said development.

Therefore, as a result of this guidance and in the absence of a clear way forward, affected local planning authorities whose boundaries interacted with fluvial catchments which ultimately drained to the Solent simply stopped issuing planning permissions. This moratorium affected thousands of proposed new homes which effectively lay in a state of limbo until a suitable assessment methodology and solution allowing schemes to show 'nutrient neutrality' could be found.

Unfortunately, that was only the beginning….

July 2019: Natural England advised Herefordshire Council advising it to stop granting planning permission for schemes in the catchments of the River Wye and River Lugg. Interestingly, Herefordshire already had a Nutrient Management Plan which was deemed by Natural England to be ‘inadequate’

June 2020: Natural England produce the latest guidance and methodology for calculating a nutrient budget and therefore requirements for on- or off-Site mitigation. This is a huge step forwards but does not deal directly with mitigation, only the ‘excess’ nutrients that need to be dealt with.

July 2020: Natural England advise LPAs in Kent (Ashford, Canterbury City, Maidstone, Dover and Folkestone & Hythe) to stop granting planning permissions for proposed developments that could negatively impact the Stour Valley catchment.

August 2020: Natural England provide the same advice to South Somerset District, Sedgemoor District, Mendip District, Somerset West and Taunton Councils regarding the Somerset Levels and Moors.

December 2020: Natural Resources Wales issues two position statements 1) Planning Position Statement: SAC Designated Rivers & Phosphates and 2) Regulatory Position: SAC Designated Rivers & Phosphates.

January 2021: Natural Resources Wales issues Compliance Assessment of Welsh River SACs against Phosphorus Targets.

March 2021: Natural Resources Wales issues interim advice for planning applications that have the potential to increase phosphate levels in river Special Areas of Conservation (SACs)

April 2021 (dated 2022!): Natural England advices Cornwall Council with regards to nutrient impacts to the River Camel SAC.

May 2021: Present day – Various schemes and trials are on-going in the UK. However, Wales does not appear to have a robust methodology or guidance for calculating a nutrient budget and therefore provision of mitigation – so the moratorium continues.

So, what is happening?

Some councils are producing SPDs and other Off Site Mitigation Financial Contributions Frameworks which allow for s106 payments to be made towards the council investing in removing other land from intensive agriculture. At present, the payments range from around ￡1,000 to ￡5,000/ kg produced. However, most note that this is a last resort if you cannot off-set on-Site or Off-Site and is unlikely to be accepted for Major Developments.

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust acquired Little Duxmore Farm on the Isle of Wight (via a Government grant), which they are using as a pilot to demonstrate proof of concept that they can remove the farm from intensive agriculture, re-wild it and ‘sell’ credits to developers. As of May 2021, we understand that the credits were pretty much all used at an approximate cost of ￡6,000 per dwelling.

EnTrade, a Wessex Water business was set up to operate on-line markets for nature based nutrient solutions. Currently it operates in the River Tone and Parrett catchments and offers payments to farmers to create on-farm projects which improve the environment. The projects are required to ‘offset’ nutrient and bio-diversity losses for water companies and developers.

Somerset, so far, have been the boldest council looking at Nutrient Neutrality. Particularly for small scale/ minor developments. In February 2021 they published Interim guidelines on small scale thresholds and nutrient neutrality principles for the Somerset Levels and Moors Ramsar catchment. This provided a Natural England agreed risk based approach for the use of Package Treatment Plants. This, in essence, sets out a framework for demonstrating where there is clearly no connectivity or pathway between the plan or project and the sensitive designated site interest features, and therefore the nutrients cannot impact the site interest features.

The EA are also reviewing (or at least proposing to review) all STW discharge permits and ‘tightening’ the limits for associated compounds such as ammoniacal nitrogen, nitrate and phosphate. Some historical permits do not have limits imposed due to their age and some are only loosely defined.

In summary…

The requirement for proposed developments to demonstrate nutrient neutrality is, of course, welcomed as part of the wider and far reaching sustainability and biodiversity net gain goals. However, what has become apparent is the lack of coordination on the subject. At present, each LPA is issuing their own position statement and appear to be looking at this in isolation rather than being led by a central body (i.e. Natural England).

We see many SPDs, calculators and other ‘tools’ which are presented depending on where you are in the country all with slightly different values. There is some pragmatic guidance emerging (e.g. in Somerset) which takes a risk based approach for small scale package treatment works but equally the water companies appear to be under no significant pressure from the EA to invest in upgrading their technology.

Boris Johnson was challenged on the issues in January 2021 during Prime Ministers questions as below:

Conservative MP Caroline Nokes noted “There is a blockage in the system; I urge my right honourable friend to get out his plunger and make sure that the DEFRA, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Natural England and the Environment Agency all work together to protect our waterways, to make sure that housing commitments can be met”.

Boris Johnson replied: “We will make sure that the ministerial Dyno-Rod is employed to sort out the blockage that my right honourable friend is experiencing. It is important that we deal simultaneously with nitrate neutrality and satisfy our environmental needs while ensuring that her community gets the housing that it needs. I think there is a way forward and I would be happy to take it up with her.”

I am yet to see said ministerial Dyno-Rod appear in any of the affected counties/ catchments.

Here at Yellow Sub Geo, our ethos is People, Planet, Profit – we are BCorp certified and put sustainability at the core of everything we do. Working in the property development sphere the need for growth and delivery of high quality affordable housing in the coming years cannot be overlooked. But that cannot be at the expense of the people in our community or our planet. Therefore, we are encouraging the formation of a specialist task force who can standardise the required assessments and provide consultants, developers and planners with the tools to ensure that all new development positively contributes to the natural world around us.

Feel free to get in touch if Nutrient Neutrality is affecting your development or you are interested in the campaign to re-wild parts of the UK.