Rishi Sunak ponders plan to unlock construction of 145,000 houses

Rishi Sunak's assistants are drafting a change plan that would allow the upgrades proposed by the Vodokanals to unlock developments. Photo: Jack Hill/via Reuters

Rishi Sunak considers a plan to unlock construction of up to 145,000 homes halted by the environmental authority, The Telegraph reports.

Downing Street and Michael Gove, Housing Minister developments have settled on proposals to overcome regulations imposed by Natural England, leading 74 councils to block development that has concerns about potential pollution to local rivers.

Government officials say the rules — stemming from the European Court of Justice's ruling — are disproportionate and hinder critical economic activity.

The building industry says waste from existing homes and other buildings accounts for less than five percent of the water pollution that Natural England tries to prevent, with most of it coming from farms.

However, the Home Builders Federation (HBF) believes that the Natural England moratorium is blocking the construction of 145,000 homes across the country, most of which already have building permits.

A plan being developed in Downing Street and in the department Mr. Gove, provoked a strong reaction. some optimism among MPs briefed on the proposals, as well as government and industry data.

Many Conservative MPs fear that under the current course the party will lag far behind Labor on housing issues during the election campaign.

< p>In a sign of Labor's growing confidence on the issue, Rachel Reeves, the Shadow Chancellor, said Saturday night that her party was now «the only choice for people dreaming of their own home.»

The Conservatives have abandoned major planning reforms after the uprising on the sidelines and fell short of their goal of building 300,000 new homes a year.

Under Natural England's nutrient neutrality policy, which stems from the 2018 European Court of Justice ruling on Dutch farms, development on designated areas can only be allowed if it can be shown that they will not lead to an overall increase in nitrogen levels. or phosphorus in rivers.

This rule is considered one of the biggest barriers to building houses today.

Such developments could be implemented in areas where «mitigation» measures, such as on-site treatment plants, would avoid additional pollution.

Last year, the government announced a new obligation for vodokanals to modernize their wastewater treatment plants. in these areas. The measure was included in the Equalization and Regeneration Bill, and MPs said it would make a «huge difference» in keeping the rivers nutrient neutral.

But water companies have been given until 2030 to do so, which means delaying home construction by at least another seven years.

MPs concerned about delays in building construction have been told that Mr. Sunak's aides are drawing up a change plan that would allow the upgrades proposed by the water utilities to unlock development now, even if work on mitigation measures has not yet begun.

One MP said: “They intend to effectively recalculate the benefits of future water quality reduction schemes to allow new homes that have stalled due to nutrient neutrality to be unlocked based on these future commitments.”

Another source added, that the Prime Minister was «personally involved» in trying to solve the problem, and Downing Street now settled on the plan as a «reasonable solution.» a method for doing so.”

Further abatement measures

According to the plan, the government will introduce additional measures to combat nitrate and phosphate pollution in particularly vulnerable areas of the country, along with a rule change to unlock developments in which sufficient water treatment facilities must be built.

However, there are concerns on whether a proposal to «recalculate» future water treatment projects could run into legal problems as a result of a European regulation.

David O'Leary, chief executive of HBF, warned that a decision was needed quickly and said: «This is a disproportionate action in the sector that does not contribute to the pollution of our rivers, currently blocking the construction of 145,000 houses and small houses. builders have already begun to turn off work. After four years, these businesses simply cannot wait any longer for a proper decision from ministers.”

A recent HBF report says: “While the most reasonable solution would be to immediately lift the unnecessary moratorium and focus on fighting the main pollutants, as long as the government insists on nutrient neutrality, it must look for short-term solutions to ease the burden and release some of the delayed homes.”

While the industry body has welcomed this requirement for water companies to upgrade their infrastructure by 2030, The measure, announced last year, «does not address the problem or provide an immediate mitigation of the risk that many small construction companies will go bankrupt well before the measure goes into effect in 2030.»