Invest & Fund calls for ‘innovative solutions’ to nutrient neutrality laws
Invest & Fund has expressed concerns about the government’s decision to scrap EU environmental protections on housing developments, saying that “we can’t be in a situation where we must choose between healthy rivers and homes”.
This week, the government announced that it was removing EU-era nutrient neutrality laws that require builders to prevent nutrient pollution, usually by building buffer zones along rivers or investing in new wetlands.
Nutrient pollution is a big environmental issue, as increased levels of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus can speed up the growth of certain plants, impacting wildlife.
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“Such laws are necessary to preserve water quality, aquatic biodiversity, and human health,” said Invest & Fund. “Excessive nutrients can lead to ‘dead zones’ in water bodies where oxygen levels are dangerously low, negatively impacting fish and other aquatic life. Nutrient neutrality laws play a pivotal role in maintaining ecological balance, promoting sustainable land use, and safeguarding the future of our ecosystems.”
However, the peer-to-peer residential development lender noted the government’s side of the argument, that the changes would enable the building of more than 100,000 new homes by 2023 which would boost the UK economy and help local communities.
It also cited an article in The Guardian which highlighted the fact that farmland is a far bigger contributor to pollution.
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“We are undoubtedly pro-change, and the interests of our developer clients, and any removal of red tape is initially welcomed – but this must come in a balanced way,” Invest & Fund said. “We don’t endorse the sweeping wholesale removal of protections that may negatively impact the nation’s waterways; deep down, that’s probably the opinion of most.
“We want the best of both worlds if we can get it. Still, we see the urgent need for a better, more harmonious relationship between the nation’s property developers and Natural England & their Welsh counterparties to reduce decision delays and provide quicker clarity, especially for smaller developers with greater risk exposure to delays.
“We would like to see the government develop more innovative solutions to these problems; as much as binary choices in debates are the normality in popular discourse, we can’t be in a situation where we must choose between healthy rivers and homes.”
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