According to a minister, the government's goal of building 300,000 new homes annually is seriously hampered by pollution regulations.
New homes and construction sites' wastewater and sewage raise levels of nutrients like nitrates and phosphates, which are bad for wildlife and water quality.
A duty to mitigate the impact, according to Baroness Scott of Bybrook, places a "significant burden" on home builders.
She informed the House of Lords that 27 areas, or 14% of England, had seen no progress on housing. .
The Home Builders Federation (HBF) claims that the regulations are excessive and will result in up to 41,000 fewer homes being built annually. .
It contends that farm wastewater and raw sewage discharged into rivers by water companies are the primary causes of the nutrient problem.
Additionally, it challenges Natural England, a government environmental agency, on the premise that each new residence will result in an average population increase of 2 point 4 people, arguing that the majority of new housing is built to accommodate the area's already existent population.
To ensure that construction of new homes achieves "nutrient neutrality," Natural England establishes rules for local planning authorities.
Thus, there is no net increase in nutrients—which can harm wildlife, estuaries, and habitats—as a result of development.
Natural England claims that additional nutrients produced by additional wastewater must be minimized in order to satisfy this requirement.
In total, 74 planning authorities have received advice to proceed with development only if it won't result in more pollution where protected sites are "in unfavorable condition due to excess nutrients.". .
According to the Local Government Association, these regulations have "significantly negatively impacted" the number of homes that have been granted planning permission in these areas.
Baroness Scott, a junior minister in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities (DLUHC), stated in a written response to the Lords that the government acknowledged the need to protect freshwater habitats and rivers and was addressing "underlying pollution.". .
Despite the minimal impact that additional wastewater from residents in new developments has on waterbodies, she continued, nutrient neutrality had put a significant burden on home builders.
She claimed that the government's goal of building 300,000 homes annually by the middle of the 2020s had been severely hampered by Natural England's advice to 74 local planning authorities, which had "effectively stalled housing development in these areas given the lack of available mitigation schemes".
Baroness Scott cited funding provided by DLUHC for excellent bids made by local governments as well as for a nutrient mitigation program that is already in place in the Tees catchment, which includes the Tees, Skerne, and Lees rivers.
The program allows developers to collaborate with local landowners to help create compensatory habitat, particularly wetlands and woodlands, in exchange for nutrient credits that can be applied to planning applications.
According to Baroness Scott, ministers had also mandated that water companies upgrade wastewater treatment facilities in impacted catchments by 2030 in order to stop pollution at its source.
More than 120,000 new homes have reportedly been put on hold due to ineffective action against pollution brought on by water companies, agricultural fertilizers, and animal slurry, according to HBF.
According to the study, newer construction uses more water than older homes and is thought to be responsible for less than 5% of England's excess nutrient levels.
We have contacted Natural England for comment. .
The Conservatives stated in their 2019 platform that by the middle of the decade, 300,000 new homes would be constructed annually.
But in December, when Tory rebels hinted that they might support a measure to outlaw mandatory targets for local authorities, the government softened its commitment.
Housing targets are still in place, but they are only a starting point with new flexibility to account for local conditions, according to DLUHC. ".
Labour has declared that it will reinstate mandatory targets.
In England, 242,700 new homes were provided in 2019–20, but this number fell to 216,490 in 2020–21, in part due to the pandemic.
