Cumbria nets £15m to resolve nutrient neutrality stalemate
With more than 3,600 homes stalled, the county’s three local authorities welcomed the government grant on Thursday.
Westmorland and Furness Council, Cumberland Council, and the Lake District National Park Authority teamed up to bid for £15m in funding to tackle issues around nutrient neutrality in their borders.
Construction of new homes in the River Eden, River Derwent and Bassenthwaite Lake, River Kent and Esthwaite Water Catchment has been delayed as water quality reports showed significant levels of phosphorous.
Unless developers can prove that their project will not increase the amount of phosphorous in these rivers they are unable to progress the scheme.
Because phosphorous comes from animal and human waste, it is an especially tricky requirement for housebuilders to meet – despite the fact most phosphorus pollution in the UK can be tracked to water companies and agricultural practices, rather than building new homes.
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The three local authorities estimate that nutrient neutrality roles have resulted in 13,000 homes stuck in the planning system. They will now use the £15m from government to work alongside Natural England, the Environment Agency, and United Utilities to tackle pollution head on.
Possible plans could include introducing additional wetlands and woodlands to the county, planting riparian buffers, changing land use, upgrading septic tank treatment plants, and introducing tertiary wastewater treatments.
The local councils are also looking to create a market for nutrient neutrality credits, enabling developers to contribute to strategic nutrient neutrality measures that may not be on the site they are developing.
Cllr Virginia Taylor, Westmorland and Furness’s cabinet member for sustainable communities and localities, welcomed the government’s financial support, adding that it “empowers us to develop and deliver solutions that unlock much-needed housing, including affordable options, across the affected catchments in Cumbria.”
She said: “This initiative will help us achieve our strategic goals, foster economic growth, and safeguard our environment.
“We are committed to working closely with our partners and the development industry to accelerate the delivery of these solutions. Together, we will navigate the necessary processes to ensure our solutions are robust, cost-effective, and that the right legal frameworks are in place to provide long-term benefits.”
Steve Ratcliffe, director of sustainable development at the Lake District National Park Authority, described the funding announcement as “great news for Cumbria”.
“This funding helps bring us a step closer to our vision of a thriving Lake District where economic growth and environmental conservation go hand in hand,” he added.
Cumberland Council Leader Cllr Mark Fryer noted that the partnership approach that secured the funding would continue as the authorities seek to use it going forward.
“We are committed to working with other agencies to support our economy and communities,” Fryer said.
While the move is a step in the right direction, Genesis Homes chief executive Nicky Gordon said it was not a fix for developers.
“The fact that it is going to be local authority administered means that we are reliant on them to undertake this task with upstream landowners,” he explained. “It is therefore anticipated that timescales could be long for any of the nutrient credits to work through the system and enable development.
“Most of all we have no idea what the end cost is going to be to us as developers, hence it’s far from a fix,” he continued.
Gordon also conveyed his own frustration that nutrient neutrality has become a housing problem.
“New houses don’t discharge pollution to watercourses,” he said. “I feel like everyone has lost their brain when it comes to thinking nutrient neutrality through, it should not, I reiterate, be linked to housing.”
Mr Gordon… house owners are THE main source of sewage. The tratment works don’t have capacity to take their effluent, so absent upgrades they do discharge pollution to watercourses. Accept that it is not easy for housebuilders to fix, but it is very much linked to housing!
By Developer
I think the current situation is frustrating, and severely lacks clarity. However the stance is correct, halting construction is better than creating a larger problem which is harder to solve in the very near future.
Yes the buck doesn’t stop with developers, but the toys have certainly come out of the pram as their cash cow is wobbling. Nothing to do with the social aspect, it comes down to ££££!
The water companies, agricultural sector need the time and support to mitigate the water pollution, which is hard to do whilst continuing in the daily work, which cannot stop. The houses will still be there to build another day, if we even need as many as the population is now in decline and that rate of reduction is going to increase in the coming years.
Considered, slow, sustainable growth is what is required, not the boom bust culture which we keep blindly walking into, making a few rich and leaving the rest to start again.
By Edward T
The house developers appear to be extremely vocal on the nutrient neutrality issue, understandably as it is stalling their revenue stream, whilst throwing agriculture under the bus, the hand that feeds them! Is it not worth them concentrating their energies and expertise into finding viable long term solutions? What are the long term plans of these developers? Can Mr Gordon say where he wants his business to be in 5 years time? Is it simply a numbers game or is there a social and environmental legacy which he is striving towards. This is a huge problem which needs to be taken back to first principles….we as a species need food (agriculture) we produce waste (sewage) these factors will not change, so we need to reform an overburdened system before we add more on top!
By Farmer Dan
The above comments are all correct. A very complicated situation, but a very real one that cant be ignored. I have to say, a cursory glance of Mr Gordon’s comments and statements on the issue do smack of ‘toys out of the pram’ scenario Edward T.
By Ryan P
It sounds like Mr Gordon has “lost his brain” how on earth can he say that nutrient neutrality is not linked to housing?! As a former environment agency officer, of long standing, I have seen the direct impact which new housing has on water courses. I have also seen how these issues have been successfully mitigated by conscientious developers, obviously at some considerable cost. Profits and greed are driving these developers, especially the small ones, who are now getting noisey, this is highlighting the lack of experience within the small developers to navigate such issues.
By Enviro J
Nutrient neutrality is directly linked to housing, utterly ridiculous to claim otherwise Mr Gordon. It is also directly linked to agriculture, an industry that is very tightly regulated and the farming sector work extremely hard to prevent damage to water courses and mitigate the overall environmental impact of the farm through environmental schemes (not all with grant money!) Mr Gordon has missed a good PR spin by not being able to back the farmers, having attack the industry and laid the blame at their door!
I will note my bias as I am a farmer, but have worked for many years in the construction industry across many sectors.
By P Walder