The Home Builders Federation (HBF) has warned that EU nutrient neutrality laws risk holding up as many as 150,000 new homes in England.

The trade organisation says that since June 2019 Natural England has issued advice to 74 local planning authorities preventing them from granting planning permission for residential development unless nutrient neutrality could be achieved.

It points to the government’s own research which has found agricultural run-off and the inaction of water companies to maintain infrastructure to be the overwhelming causes of the nutrients issue. It is estimated that all existing development in affected catchment areas contributes less than 5% towards the phosphate and nitrate loads in rivers – meaning that the occupants of any new homes built would make a negligible difference.

Despite this government has given water companies until 2030 to upgrade their processes and U-turned on a plan to reduce access to high nutrient fertilisers for farmers. The only intervention aimed at addressing river pollution has seen Natural England put a block on much-needed new homes, while planning permissions continue to be granted for new agricultural plants.

To continue building, housebuilders need to demonstrate ‘nutrient neutrality’ but very few of the required mitigation schemes currently exist. Instead, builders have been forced into buying trout or pig farms and taking them out of use in an effort to unlock new housing sites and keep staff employed, according to the HBF.

A spokesperson said: “Many small local builders only operate on one or a few sites, so the impact of the moratorium is devastating. The only way for house builders to get any return on the investment in land and material is to complete and sell a home. Deprived of that option, SME builders are laying off staff and having to consider their future in the sector. Allied to delays in planning and wider growing regulatory costs and requirements, the outlook for SME builders is bleak.

“While we welcomed government’s acknowledgement of the seriousness of the issue as part of the Spring Budget and support the drive to clean up our country’s rivers, action must be taken now to alleviate the impact on home builders so they can deliver much-needed housing.”

So what action we would the HBF like to see now?

The spokesperson for the organisation said: “Fundamentally, we would like to see government take action to lift Natural England’s disproportionate moratorium on house building and focus on tackling the root causes of the issue. However, if it insists on home builders achieving nutrient neutrality, it must explore short-term solutions to alleviate the burden and release some of the homes delayed.

“To alleviate the impact on home builders, we recommend Natural England’s nutrient calculator be updated to reflect the contribution of new residential development more accurately.

“We are also calling on government to consider a package of measures to assist SME home builders who haven’t the cash reserves to procure nature-based solutions and won’t benefit from the government’s proposed improvements to wastewater treatment.”