Plans to build thousands of new homes across the country have been thrown into doubt after Natural England releases new guidance on nutrient neutrality. Councils largely, currently lack the expertise to know how to make assessments to achieve neutrality, leading to the stalling of tens of thousands of planning applications across the UK.
Nutrient neutrality is the latest scheme brought in to help manage the environmental impact of a development in the local area. It has proven a significant hurdle to planning applications and a major stumbling point for developments moving forward in some areas of the country. Areas across the UK designated as nutrient vulnerable zones, must now take into account nutrient neutrality when submitting a planning application.
In order to be approved for planning in a nutrient vulnerable zone, a new development must be assessed and proven to be nutrient neutral. Or, more likely, the increased nutrient discharge must be offset by increasing a sink for nutrients elsewhere in the local area. Nutrient increases associated with a development can be offset by either funding a wetland or the removal of land from intensive nitrate polluting usage, such as crop and livestock farming.
This system of offsetting has resulted in the development of a nitrate trading platform, currently only operating in the Solent area of the UK. This platform is very similar in concept to the more widely known carbon credits system, however the area used for offsetting must be in the local area of the development; thereby having a direct impact on nutrient neutrality as opposed to a net improvement seen across a larger area (nationwide).
Once the nutrient impact of a development has been calculated, then the most effective means of offsetting can be determined. Offsetting can take two basics forms; buying credits for the creation of new wetlands (nitrate sink) or buying credits for the setting aside of farming land, farming is a major input of nitrates into the the environment.
The first step for a developer in a nutrient vulnerable zone is to make a nutrient assessment of their development plan. From this, it is clear how many credits must be purchased in order to achieve nutrient neutrality and achieve a successful planning outcome. At ERD, we are able to make these calculations for our clients, easing the planning pathway as the necessary credits required for nutrient neutrality become clear.