Cumbria to benefit from £16m to unlock thousands of stalled homes

Natural England's 'nutrient neutrality' measures, designed to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus levels in rivers, have affected housebuilding plans in certain areas of the county.

Nutrient neutrality requires that new housing, tourism and other developments in certain areas should not add more 'nutrient pollution' to the water catchment, particularly the level of phosphates entering watercourses. 

Natural England has put the rivers Eden, Derwent and Bassenthwaite - and the River Kent in South Cumbria - on the protected list, meaning all new developments in these catchments need to evidence nutrient neutrality prior to commencement.

Three local planning authorities — Westmorland & Furness Council, Cumberland Council, and the Lake District National Park Authority — have come together to secure funding from the Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund.

It is said between the authorities, the Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund will help unlock 13,000 homes within planning.

The fund is said to help create new wetlands and upgrade septic tanks to enable sustainable development and develop riparian buffers, which are vegetative zones along waterways that can naturally absorb nutrients.

The partnership also plans to establish a market for nutrient neutrality credits, allowing developers to purchase credits tied to strategic mitigation projects.

Cllr Mark Fryer, leader of Cumberland Council, said: “We welcome the investment from Government. This issue has held back growth in our area and this funding will allow us to support housing development plans and drive forward plans that, up to now, have been stalled. 

 “Our partnership approach has secured funding to tackle this issue. We are committed to working with other agencies to support our economy and communities.” 

Cllr Virginia Taylor, Westmorland and Furness’s cabinet member for Sustainable Communities and Localities, said: “I welcome this significant funding, which empowers us to develop and deliver solutions that unlock much-needed housing, including affordable options, across the affected catchments in Cumbria.   

“We estimate that, across our areas, at least 13,000 homes are either currently stalled in the planning process or will face future challenges due to nutrient neutrality requirements. Delivering solutions such as land use changes, private sewerage upgrades, treatment wetlands and riparian buffers will enable the development of these homes and ensure we protect our precious habitat sites.   

  “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, said: "This is great news for Cumbria, resulting from our Cumbrian local planning authorities working together tirelessly to find solutions to this significant challenge.

"This now allows us to work with our communities, landowners, and developers to bring forward innovative solutions to progress nutrient neutrality while supporting much-needed housing, including affordable housing here in the National Park.

"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." 

The current measures are seen as a hurdle by some in the construction sector who claim that nutrient pollution caused by housebuilding is 'negligible' compared to other sources like agriculture and existing built environment wastewater, however. 

Genesis Homes says it has around 300 homes over three developments within Carlisle held up as a direct result of these measures, as well as numerous other potential sites that it is no longer progressing.

Urging caution, Nicky Gordon, Genesis Homes' managing director, said: "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.

"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.

"New houses don’t discharge pollution to watercourses, 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."