Thousands of new homes cannot be built because of pollution in rivers and high water levels, council leaders have warned.
The Local Government Association (LGA) says urgent action and funding is needed in the forthcoming budget so that 20,000 homes left ‘in limbo’ can go ahead,
The LGA says the Government could take action to speed up housebuilding by providing funding for locally available solutions such as improving efficiency, targeted agricultural upgrades and improving waste water treatment works.
Councils are also calling for more long-term action to protect rivers by focusing reducing pollution at source.
LGA environment spokesperson David Renard said: ‘We need to find short-term local ways to address this pollution and water availability before longer term solutions are found to stop the pollution at the source so the land can be built on.
‘This will help address the housing crisis, with more than 1.2 million households on waiting lists in desperate need of somewhere to stay.
‘Councils want to work together with Government, agencies, developers and the agricultural sector to find ways to kickstart building homes, while doing everything possible to reduce pollution at source, maintain safe water levels and avoid other areas getting caught up in this environmental bind.’
