Homes blocked by nutrient pollution to be prioritised in Environmental Delivery Plans

(by Karma Loveday)

Developments blocked by nutrient pollution in waterways will be the first focus of the new Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) being introduced alongside the Nature Restoration Fund. This was confirmed by the Government last week as the Planning and Infrastructure Bill gained Royal Assent.

An Implementation Plan published as the Act became law set out the rollout route for the Nature Restoration Fund, which will culminate in the delivery of the first EDPs in 2026. Under the new approach, Natural England will work with public bodies, environmental organisations, private markets and developers to create an EDP for specific areas, outlining conservation measures that address impacts of development on protected sites and species. Where an EDP is in place, developers can make a payment into the Nature Restoration Fund, rather than implementing individual mitigation measures. Natural England will pool these payments to deliver improvements at a larger scale — for example, cleaning rivers, restoring wetlands and creating accessible green spaces where communities can enjoy nature.

The first EDPs will launch in 2026 and initially focus on addressing blockages caused by nutrient pollution in rivers, lakes and estuaries.

More widely, the Act promised to speed up the delivery of new homes and critical infrastructure, including for water supply. Non-water sector firms will be able to build reservoirs that are automatically considered as nationally significant infrastructure projects, which will accelerate the approval process. More widely, major infrastructure projects will face fewer delays from pre-application statutory consultation requirements because of an overhaul of the pre-application period. Together, the reforms are expected to speed up major infrastructure projects by 12 months on average.

Other key changes introduced by the Act included: 

• Limiting the number of attempts at legal challenge against government decisions on major infrastructure projects, with only one attempt rather than three for cases deemed by the court as totally without merit.

• Modernising planning committees to focus on the most significant developments rather than smaller projects.

• Extra powers for development corporations to speed up delivery of large-scale projects, including the next generation of new towns and public transport.

• Simplifying the approval process for new EV chargers on public roads to save time and costs while supporting clean power.

• Enabling electricity bill discounts of up to £2,500 over ten years for communities hosting new pylons and transmission infrastructure. 

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook also announced there would be further revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework, such as: a clear requirement to incorporate swift bricks into new developments; the application of new national standards for sustainable drainage systems; and explicit protection for chalk streams. He also announced new support for SME developers, including exempting developments of up to 0.2 hectares from biodiversity net gain requirements. 

The RSPB said the Bill becoming law was “a big blow for wildlife”.