What is the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill doing to get more homes built?

The UK government took a bold step to unblock defective EU laws up to 2030 to facilitate the construction of 100,000 new homes. The rules on nutrient neutrality restricted house-building activities, depriving local people of their rights to decide what and when to build.

The new (2023) amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill proposes to do away with the red tape so that more new homes can be built in small communities. It is only a matter of a few months before the developers can begin the work to build new homes because of the government's action.

What is the housing shortage in the UK?

The UK struggles with a massive backlog of unbuilt homes. In fact, the UK has failed to keep pace with average EU countries in homebuilding activities, causing a backlog of 4 million homes. The low rate of development in the private housing sector is the main reason for the UK's backlog of missing homes. There is an urgent need to build up to 654,000 new homes annually to bridge the gap

What should the UK annual new build housing target be?

The country needs 442,000 new homes each year to double the existing annual rate of additional houses. The UK must take steps to bridge the backlog of over 4 million new homes to reach the housing standards in other European countries. The August 29 announcement to unblock the potential by removing red tape is a positive step to address the UK's housing crisis.

What EU laws have been stopping housing getting built in the UK?

Since 2019 EU laws do not allow UK developers to build new homes in areas that are close to waterways. This came about because of the nutrient neutrality laws after a ruling by the European Court of Justice in 2019. This meant that developers cannot go ahead with the construction despite already having a valid planning permission for sites affected by these laws. Now as part of the Levelling Up and Regeneration agenda scrapping these laws will enable developers to start construction on these sites.

So what are the nutrient neutrality laws all about?

Nitrates and phosphates are common nutrients that enter river systems. Construction sites and new homes release harmful pollutants affecting wildlife and water quality and the nutrient neutrality laws were brought about to protect river systems from pollutants from nearby construction. However, the primary source of river pollution is discharge of wastewater from farms and sewage from water companies, not from housebuilding. The effect of the EU laws was that housebuilders and developers had to comply with nutrient neutrality rules despite the negligible impact of additional wastewater from new residents.

Balancing environment and development

The UK needs new homes as desperately as it requires the environment to be protected. Besides taking a call on scrapping the legacy EU laws on nutrient neutrality to boost house-building in small local communities, the government is considering new environmental measures

280 million UK investment to widen the Nutrient Mitigation Scheme's scope

The new measure to protecting the environment plans to widen the Nutrient Mitigation Scheme's scope. The government will increase the investment up to 280 million. The amount is adequate to offset the meagre amount of nutrient discharge because of the new 100,000 homes up to 2030. Working with the private sector and local authorities, Natural England will ensure the long-term health of England's river systems and waterways, besides partnering with local communities to establish protected sites around the most impacted areas with higher housing demands.

Welcome announcement to address the housing crisis

House builders are eager to work with the government to ensure environmental protection while building new homes. They strive to create thriving communities with new, energy-efficient dwellings that mitigate environmental impact and reduce waste. The proposal to scrap EU laws on nutrient neutrality is a welcome development, which will boost the delivery of new homes across the UK.

Many areas in the country struggle with the lack of new homes despite the negligible release of nutrients into river systems by residents. The government must plan measures to check the major wastewater and sewerage sources, such as industries and farms. The water companies must begin upgrading wastewater systems by 2030.