House building boost
29 August 2023
The government believes that more than 100,000 homes will be built by 2030 following the scrapping of EU laws relating to water pollution levels, enabling plans for their construction to go ahead.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities says the regulations have been blocking the delivery of new homes, including cases where planning permission has already been granted. It believes that the level of nutrients entering rivers from new homes is very small.
The move comes alongside new environmental measures to tackle pollution at source and restore habitats. This includes expanding investment in and evolving the Nutrient Mitigation Scheme run by Natural England to £280m to work with local authorities and the private sector to promote the long term health and resilience of river systems.
The government intends to work with the house building industry to ensure that larger developers make an appropriate and fair contribution to this scheme over the coming years, and is discussing the right structure and approach with the Home Builders Federation.
Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, said: “We are committed to building the homes this country needs and to enhancing our environment. The way EU rules have been applied has held us back. These changes will provide a multi-billion pound boost for the UK economy and see us build more than 100,000 new homes.”
While environmentalists have voiced dismay at this latest move, additional house building would provide a welcome boost for contractors and the tool hire companies supplying them.
Stewart Baseley, Executive Chairman of the Home Builders Federation, said: “Today’s very welcome announcement has the potential to unlock housing delivery across the country, from Cornwall to the Tees Valley, where housebuilding has been blocked despite wide acknowledgement that occupants of new homes are responsible for only a tiny fraction of the wastewater finding its ways into rivers and streams.”
Jennie Daly, CEO of Taylor Wimpey, commented: “We are pleased that the government is proposing to address this important issue and is taking steps to reduce barriers to development. This will help deliver the country’s much needed new homes, which make a significant contribution to the wider economy.”
Photo: Ryan Collis
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