The Government has reportedly abandoned its plans to scrap nutrient neutrality rules.
In an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, the Government had attempted to ditch the rules, under which developers must prove that new buildings will have a neutral impact on protected waterways in an amendment.
It claimed that removing the rules would have ‘unlocked 100,000 much needed homes’.
However, the amendment was defeated in the House of Lords last month, leaving the Government to seek a new route to scrap nutrient neutrality schemes.
Now, plans to scrap them have been dropped, outlets including ITV and The Guardian have reported.
Environmental charity The Wildlife Trusts welcomed reports of the U-turn.
The charity’s head of public affairs, Elliot Chapman-Jones, said: ‘The state of our rivers hangs in the balance and people across the country are rightly deeply concerned.
‘The plans to scrap nutrient neutrality rules would have been a weakening of environmental rules to allow developers to profit from the pollution of our waterways.
‘This is simply unfathomable amidst a nature and climate crisis.
‘The Government's premise that you can either have new homes or clean rivers is false – development and the health of our rivers are not mutually exclusive.’
A spokesperson from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has said: ‘We are considering next steps so we can explore how we can unlock the homes we need.’
