Housebuilders would need to ringfence an area the size of London to offset the impact of 120,000 new homes under nutrient neutrality rules.
Lichfields, a planning and development consultancy, has suggested that 400,000 acres of farmland — equivalent to an area the size of London or Surrey — would need to be taken out of use to build 120,000 homes.
Natural England has been accused of blocking that number of homes by insisting housebuilders commit to not polluting rivers and offset any potential damage. This is despite the quango admitting that pollution from new developments is “very small”.
Ben Houchen, mayor of the Tees Valley, where building projects have been blocked, said: “The current rules are completely unworkable.”
Lichfields’ analysis concluded that 3.3 acres per house would need to be taken out of agricultural use to meet the rules.
