Building on hold over pollution fears

NUMEROUS HOUSING developments across a river catchment area are facing delays amid concerns that construction will exacerbate volumes of nitrates and phosphates in waterways.

Proposed developments near the River Tees or any of its tributaries in North Yorkshire, County Durham and Teesside have been put on hold following the Government’s conservation advisor issuing advice on mitigating water pollution in the protected area around the Tees from housebuilding.

Several local authorities in the area have been advised by Natural England to refuse developments that are not phosphate and nitrate neutral, as the nutrients can speed up the growth of certain plants which can impact on wildlife.

Natural England director of sustainable development Melanie Hughes said: “Algal blooms and excessive vegetation growth can kill fish and prevent birds from feeding. These effects also reduce people’s enjoyment of these special places.

“The sources of excess nutrients include sewage treatment works, septic tanks, livestock, arable farming and industrial processes.

“These are long-running issues spanning decades and will be complex to resolve. However, without resolution of these, we will continue to see a decline in water quality and detrimental effects on our environment.”

Nutrient neutrality will see developers forced to mitigate the pollutants by creating wetlands, grasslands or woodlands.

A meeting of Richmondshire District Council’s planning committee heard the new Natural England regulations meant developers would have to prove their projects would not impact nutrient levels in the river before applications could be considered.