In response to a central government announcement on rules related to the issue of nutrient overload in our watercourses and on the Broads, the Group Leaders forming the partnership on Broadland District Council, including the Green Party Group Leader, wrote a letter to the Eastern Daily Press. The following is the letter which was published on the Letters page alongside an editorial headlined, "Houses are needed - but not at nature's expense".
This week the EDP reported on changes to nutrient neutrality rules affecting house building (30th August). You reported that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Housing Minister, Michael Gove, made a literal flying visit to support the announcement. The report included the comment "council leaders, MPs and developers welcomed the tabling of an amendment to a bill which will mean, within months, decisions on some of 41,000 stalled housing schemes in Norfolk can start being made by councils".
This was a misleading comment because not all council leaders were contacted for comment, including the undersigned. We cannot “welcome” a headline without understanding the detail. To clarify the hype surrounding what was clearly a politically motivated announcement we would like to point out some salient facts:
Nutrient overload of our watercourses and the Broads is a serious problem. We depend on them for our wellbeing, agriculture, and tourism. The seriousness of the situation has been amply demonstrated due to the development of toxic algal blooms and incidents of dead fish and other aquatic life particularly during periods of hot weather. This is exacerbated by well-publicised untreated sewage discharges due to inadequate provision of sewage treatment by the water companies. Additional house building without mitigation will only add to this overload which cannot be sustained if we are to safeguard the health of our watercourses. Therefore, action must be taken to deal with nutrient overload and ensure no additional nutrients enter the waterways.
Much of the detail to effectively manage nutrient discharges and allow our rivers to recover is still to be worked through and agreed. It will take several months for some of the measures to be included in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. The Nutrient Mitigation Scheme run by Natural England requires further development. Larger developers will need to make a fair contribution to the scheme. Work will have to be carried out on the restoration of the most affected watercourses. Wastewater treatment works require upgrading. Runoff from farms will need to be effectively managed through improved slurry storage and management.
This is a complex problem needing action on many fronts. Broadland District Council, along with other Norfolk councils, has been working on potential mitigation schemes well before this announcement. We anticipate continuing this work to find sustainable solutions whilst monitoring further announcements by central government. The aim is to be able to build appropriate, truly affordable housing without causing the ecological collapse of our watercourses.
Cllr Susan Holland, Leader of Broadland District Council (BDC) and Liberal Democrat Group Leader
Cllr Natasha Harpley, Deputy Leader of Broadland District Council (BDC) and Labour Group Leader
Cllr Jan Davis, Cabinet Member for Environment and Green Group Leader
