Nutrient neutrality advice aims to halt further pollution of England’s most important protected waterways whose catchments cover an area of approximately 1.8m ha.

Natural England has developed a Nutrient Mitigation Scheme that has so far secured approximately 257 ha of land to reduce nutrient pollution from new housing development. This land will also be managed for the purposes of nature conservation and, where appropriate, public access.

Natural England is currently investigating other sites across England which, if considered feasible, would secure approximately 512 ha of land for the purposes of nutrient mitigation and nature recovery.

Natural England aims to avoid the best and most versatile agricultural land when investing in nutrient mitigation projects.

The nutrient mitigation scheme operates alongside a number of other providers of nutrient mitigation across England, including Local Authorities, environmental Non-Governmental Organisations, private markets and developers. Many of the solutions invested in by these providers will be nature-based and will not only reduce nutrient pollution but benefit nature and people.

Government will publish a package of guidance on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) shortly. This guidance will include advice for landowners, developers, and Local Planning Authorities around their role and responsibilities in delivering mandatory BNG. This guidance will include information on monitoring and enforcing BNG.

Significant biodiversity gains on the development site must be legally secured by planning condition, planning obligation or conservation covenant. Biodiversity net gain sites away from the development site must be legally secured by planning obligation or conservation covenant. Authorities can charge a monitoring fee through section 106 planning obligations, to cover the cost of monitoring and reporting on delivery of that section 106 obligation. Monitoring fees can be used to monitor and report on any type of planning obligation, for the lifetime of that obligation. For gains that are secured with conservation covenants, we expect costs for monitoring and enforcement activities to be reflected in the price of biodiversity units.

The planning enforcement regime will be the principal way of enforcing delivery of BNG.

Water neutrality is about enabling development which does not increase the amount of water taken/ abstracted from the environment. Water companies account for the effects of growth, drought and climate change uncertainty on future demand within a Water Resources Management Plan and update this every five years.

The investment through the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) is substantial; between 2020 and 2025 it will account for over £5 billion of asset improvements, investigation, monitoring and catchment interventions. Defra, the Environment Agency and Ofwat work with water companies to identify solutions that will improve water courses and prevent further deterioration. Water companies need to meet environmental legislative requirements set out in the Environment Act 2021.

Furthermore, in our Plan for Water we set out how we are working with the Future Homes Hub and Cranfield University to “develop clear guidance on ‘water positive’ or ‘net zero water’ developments and roles for developers and water companies, including water company incentives”. This guidance could be used by Local Authorities and any other organisation that aspires to become water positive.

In our Plan for Water we also set out that we will “support development of Agricultural Water Resources Management Plans through the Water for Food Group initiated by the National Farmers’ Union”. We are working with the agriculture sector and supporting farmers to store more water on their land – launching the second round of the £10 million Water Management Grant to fund more on-farm reservoirs and better irrigation equipment - and reducing planning barriers to small reservoirs.

Surface water flooding is localised and complex and is the responsibility of lead local flood authorities (LLFAs) to manage and mitigate. They do this in partnership with highways authorities and water companies. It is for LLFAs to determine the best approach to mitigating the risk.

The Government is also taking action. In July 2021 we restated our commitment to ensuring surface water flood risk is tackled and published a progress update on our Surface Water Management Action Plan and our response to the independent review into surface water and drainage responsibilities. Progress is being made on these, with over 60% of actions already complete.

The Government has reviewed making sustainable systems (SuDS) mandatory in new developments and the review was published on 10 January 2023. The Government accepted the review’s recommendation to mandate SuDS through implementing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. SuDS use features such as ponds, rain gardens and grass to absorb the rain and tanks and pipes to slow the flow to the sewer, reducing the risk of surface water and sewer flooding. Schedule 3 will also make the right to connect surface water to public sewers conditional on the drainage system being approved as meeting the mandatory sustainable drainage standards. This will help limit volumes entering drainage networks which will help ease the pressure on the sewerage system and mitigate flood risk. The Government is now considering how best to implement this in terms of scope, threshold, and process and there will be a public consultation later this year.

Local Planning Authorities can, subject to legal tests, apply conditions to a grant of planning permission. These can be used to secure specific flood mitigation measures where these are necessary to address particular issues identified as part of the application process. With regard to flood risk, local planning authorities need to undertake consultation with the Environment Agency on development, other than minor development, which is proposed to be carried out in areas of high risk of flooding and give reasons where they go against Environment Agency advice to refuse the application.

In August 2022, the Government published significantly updated planning guidance on flood risk and coastal change to help councils to take climate change into consideration and make more informed decisions on whether a new development should go ahead.

In December 2022, the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities published a consultation on reforms to national planning policy. The Government will undertake a full consultation on a revised National Planning Policy Framework once the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill has completed its passage through Parliament.

Local Planning Authorities are responsible for attaching conditions to planning applications so it would be for them to determine whether a Grampian condition would be appropriate on a case by case basis.

Defra has not yet made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring infrastructure investment to be secured through Grampian conditions.

Conditions requiring works on land that is not controlled by the applicant, or that requires the consent or authorisation of another person or body often fail the tests of reasonableness and enforceability. It may be possible to achieve a similar result using a condition worded in a negative form (a Grampian condition) i.e. prohibiting development authorised by the planning permission or other aspects linked to the planning permission until a specified action has been taken. Such conditions should not be used where there are no prospects at all of the action in question being performed within the time-limit imposed by the permission.

Local Planning Authorities are responsible for attaching conditions to planning applications so it would be for them to determine whether a Grampian condition would be appropriate on a case by case basis.

The Government has commenced a review into the case for implementing Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 in England. The review will report back in 2022.

The Government is currently undertaking a review of the case for implementing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. The review will report in 2022.

The Government is reviewing the case for implementing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 in England. Schedule 3 was designed to set ministerial standards for the construction of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) on new developments. This review will look at the benefits and impacts of implementation as well as alternative methods for ensuring that SuDS are incorporated in future developments and maintained after construction.

In August 2021 the Government announced a review of the case for implementing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, which started this autumn. This review will look at the benefits and impacts of implementation as well as alternative methods for ensuring that sustainable drainage systems, or SuDS, are incorporated in future developments and maintained after construction.

Local Planning Authorities are responsible for issuing planning consents for the redevelopment of brownfield land. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that development sites should be suitable for its proposed use taking account of ground conditions and any risks arising from land contamination. This includes risks arising from former activities such as gasworks. The Framework is also clear that new development should be appropriate for its location taking into account the likely effects of pollution on health, living conditions and the natural environment.

Certain remediation activities on former gasworks sites (such as treatment of contaminated soils and groundwater) require a mobile treatment permit under the Environmental Permitting Regime. These permits are issued by the Environment Agency (EA), which regulates emissions from the treatment activities (e.g. air pollution, odour, noise).

Before treatment commences, the operator must submit an application to the EA to deploy the mobile plant to site. This application must include site specific information to show how the operator will:

• control pollution from the treatment process and
• control and manage emissions to avoid pollution to the environment and harm to human health.

My department has not undertaken such an assessment. National planning policy expects local plans to identify and map Local Wildlife Sites and to include policies that not only secure their protection from harm or loss but also help to enhance them and their connection to wider ecological networks.

Defra requires local authorities to report annually on the proportion of Local Wildlife Sites where positive conservation management has been or is being implemented. In 2018/19, 47% of Local Wildlife Sites across England were in positive conservation management.

The Environment Bill contains important new measures for reversing nature’s decline. These include strengthening the existing biodiversity duty, to require all public authorities to take action to conserve and enhance biodiversity. Local Authorities will also be required to produce 5-yearly Biodiversity Reports setting out the action they have taken and its impact as part of this duty.

Additionally, the Environment Bill introduces a new biodiversity net gain requirement for development. This includes measures that allow planning authorities to recognise any habitat degradation since January 2020 and to take the earlier habitat state as the baseline for the purposes of biodiversity net gain.