HAMPSHIRE and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust (HIWWT) is “dismayed” at the government’s plan to ‘let developers off the hook’ from offsetting the pollution of new houses.
Natural England’s Nutrient Neutrality regulations ensure that new building developments in protected areas such as the Solent can be approved once suitable measures are in place to counteract nitrates and phosphates leaking into rivers.
But government plans announced this week would remove the responsibility from housebuilders, with the Conservatives instead proposing doubling its investment to Natural England to tackle the issue while building more housing.
Chief executive of HIWWT, Debbie Tann, said: “The proposed amendments to the Levelling Up Bill will drive a coach and horses through the strongest environmental legislation we have – the Habitats Regulations – which protects the Solent coastline and our internationally important chalk streams, including the River Itchen.
“If supported by the House of Lords, these changes will put into law the notion that local authorities should assume developments will not impact protected sites, and that they should ignore any evidence to the contrary if it is presented to them.
“We will be opposing these changes in the strongest terms as they undermine key principles that have been in place for decades – i.e. that polluters should pay, and that a precautionary principle should be taken to avoid damage to our most important wildlife sites.
“All polluters must mitigate the pollution they contribute to – and house builders should be no different. Instead of developers paying for the pollution they cause – these changes would see the taxpayer picking up the bill.”
As chalk streams, the Rivers Test and Itchen are sensitive to elevated nutrient levels, which cause excessive growth of algae, impacting the whole ecosystem.
In the Solent region, HIWWT has worked with developers, local government and regulators to develop a nature-based solution that mitigates the environmental effects of new developments.
By rewilding land previously used for intensive agriculture, the trust is reducing the amount of nutrients reaching the Solent while restoring habitats for wildlife.
The trust’s first such project, at Wilder Little Duxmore on the Isle of Wight, saw a 47 per cent reduction in soil mineral nitrogen levels recorded in less than two years.
Ms Tann said: “The ‘Nutrient Neutrality’ rules have been working very well in the Solent area. To scrap them now is a betrayal of promises made by the government to protect the environment.
“Through our Nutrient Neutrality schemes, we have already proven a cost-effective way to unlock housebuilding while also mitigating the environmental impact of new developments – and those methods have the added benefit of helping people, communities and nature too.
“We must have robust measures in place to start tackling this critical issue now as well as into the future. Why should developers be let off the hook and not pay to mitigate their impact?”
Source: Hampshire Chronicle
