Pollution rules pose fund risk
NEW REGULATIONS MAY HIT PLANS FOR HOUSING
NEW rules to ensure homes and estates don’t pollute the River Tees could cause a funding headache at councils.
Requirements to ensure “nutrient neutrality” for new homes have been rolled out by Natural England in a bid to prevent run-off from estates increasing nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen which can speed up the growth of algae and disrupt ecosystems.
However, the new rules have thrown a spanner in the works of house building programmes along the Tees - and the financial plans of councils which rely on bonuses from homes and council tax income to fund services.
Middlesbrough chief executive Tony Parkinson warned the rule changes had the potential to “significantly impact” the borough’s housebuilding programme in the next 12 to 18 months.
He added: “We’re trying to find a way around that and trying to calculate the impact on our mediumterm financial plan because that is supported by growth in housing.”
In the past, council officials said they did not expect nutrient neutrality rules would have “any notable
impacts” on hitting housing needs and targets.
Revenue from homes is even more pressing in Middlesbrough where the majority of homes are in council tax bands A and B.
This, coupled with the high demands in social care, means the authority is reliant on its annual settlement from the government - as well as any money it can bring in from new, higher banded homes.
The government has pledged a £100,000 support fund for each catchment area affected by the changes. The aim was the cash would be used to hire staff to respond to the challenges of nutrient pollution by ensuring local authorities had a joined approach.
Howevber, it is understood a number of Teesside council officials were desperately seeking more information on the changes when the rules emerged.
Natural England has told the council areas where the new rules apply that where protected sites are in an unfavourable condition due to excess nutrients, developments should only go ahead if it will not cause additional pollution.
Mr Parkinson told Wednesday’s overview and scrutiny board how Middlesbrough Council still needed to get on with disposing of land “even if the building of houses and submission of planning permission may be delayed” by the new rules.
This came as the top officer told how stretches at Newham Hall and Nunthorpe Grange would be disposed of this summer.
Neighbouring Stockton Council’s position on the new nutrient rules was laid out at the borough’s planning committee earlier this month.
Planning chief Simon Grundy said nutrient neutrality was an issue for authorities along the River Tees with the whole of the borough in the catchment area.
He added: “We are pausing determining planning applications until developers have done a habitat regulations assessment which will tell us whether or not there is an impact.
“If there is an impact they will need to provide mitigation.
“That mitigation would then need to be agreed with ourselves and also Natural England.”
Mr Grundy added they were seeking further guidance and advice on what the changes would mean.
He said: “It’s something which is a bit of a moving feast but we are treating it with the utmost seriousness.”