Ministers reject river clean-up plan over fears it could stall new homes

A recommendation from MPs to help clean up Britain's rivers has been rejected by the government over fears it could discourage the building of new houses.

The Government on Monday responded to a report by the Environmental Audit Committee which warned a "chemical cocktail of sewage, agricultural waste, and plastic" is polluting Britain's waterways.

The findings emerged weeks before The Telegraph launched its Clean Rivers campaign, calling for action to stop water companies, industrial agriculture and urban waste from polluting England’s beauty spots.

Although the majority of recommendations have been approved by ministers, one call by MPs to impose stricter rules on planned housing developments that increase the levels of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus was rejected.

In its response to the Environmental Audit Committee, the government said any plans to limit the amount of chemicals that end up in neighbouring wetlands, rivers and nature reserves could have a “stalling effect” on housebuilding.

Ministers insisted the desire for “nutrient neutrality”, which requires developers to mitigate the damage to the environment caused by additional waste water, could constrain the planning system.

Nutrient neutrality can be achieved by creating new wetlands to strip nutrients from water or creating buffer zones.

“The Government is concerned by the stalling effect of nutrient neutrality on new housebuilding and the planning system. We will focus on reducing pollution at source as a priority, to ensure that sites can be recovered, as well as supporting sustainable development in catchment areas affected,” the response said.

“The Government agrees that planners should understand risks to the water environment when considering granting permissions, but care should be taken in balancing the role of different public bodies in managing pollution risks.

Exisitng rules thwarting development

Existing rules have already thwarted development projects. Herefordshire Council said it had not been able to approve any housing, industrial, commercial or agricultural applications since October 2019 because of the potential impact to the River Lugg.

Last month, 42 local authorities in England were told that new homes must not pollute nearby protected areas with damaging nitrates and phosphates to river catchments and protected areas including the Eden Valley in Cumbria, the River Camel in Cornwall and the Norfolk Broads.

According to the Home Builders Federation, up to 120,000 new homes in 74 local authorities may have been delayed because of the “nutrient neutrality” rules, weakening the government's manifesto target of building 300,000 new homes a year.

Although they raised some concerns, ministers agreed with the majority of the recommendations in the Environmental Audit Committee report.

As a result the government has pledged to significantly improve the amount and analysis of monitoring water quality.

Its monitoring and reporting framework as legislated for in the Environment Act, will “significantly improve” the enforcement ability of both Ofwat (the water industry's financial regulator) and the Environment Agency, it said.

Cut bonuses at polluting water firms

Ministers agreed that water company bosses should have their bonuses cut for illegally polluting rivers.

It comes after The Telegraph revealed that England's nine major water firms were fined just 0.7 per cent of their post-tax profits in Environment Agency cases over the past decade, despite breaking the rules hundreds of times.

“We recommend that Ofwat examine the scope of its existing powers in respect of water company remuneration, with a view to limiting the awards of significant annual bonuses to water company senior executives in the event of major or persistent breaches in permit conditions,” the government said.

“It is important that the regulatory framework incentivises companies to improve environmental performance and penalises companies when they fall short.”

Philip Dunne MP, chairman of the Environmental Audit Committee Chairman, said: “Improving water quality in our rivers is not an easy task and will not be solved overnight.

"In 2021, sewage poured into our waterways over 370,000 times: this is simply unacceptable. But the Government has clearly been listening and Ministers have shown a determination to engage constructively with the Committee’s recommendations.

“This is a critical period for transforming human impact on our waterways and I welcome the way in which the Government is engaging and seeking to put right the indifference of successive previous administrations.

"The Committee will continue to hold the Government, its arms-length bodies and the water companies to account as they implement these plans to improve the water quality in England’s rivers.”