Britain set for £18bn housing boost as ministers bin EU eco rules ‘holding us back’
A BONFIRE of EU red tape will unleash a house-building bonanza and £18billion economic boost, ministers declared today.
Housing Secretary Michael Gove confirmed revelations in The Sun that he is ditching eco edicts made by Brussels that have “held us back”.
He believes that relaxing planning rules around "nutrient neutrality" will create more than 100,000 each year.
The bureaucracy around environmental protection is currently blocking these developments from being built despite planning permission.
Environmental campaigners have criticised the plan which they warn will increase pollution in rivers.
But Mr Gove insisted he is not compromising on protecting Britain’s waterways and will safeguard them while boosting house building.
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The Housing Secretary said: "We are committed to building the homes this country needs and to enhancing our environment. The way EU rules have been applied has held us back.
"These changes will provide a multi-billion pound boost for the UK economy and see us build more than 100,000 new homes."
Mr Gove added: “Protecting the environment is paramount, which is why the measures we’re announcing today will allow us to go further to protect and restore our precious waterways whilst still building the much-needed homes this country needs.
“We will work closely with environmental agencies and councils as we deliver these changes.”
Responding to the announcement Rishi Sunak said: "I want to see more homes built.
"It's also what local communities want. But sometimes hangover EU laws get in the way. It's not right.
"So I'm cutting the red tape to unlock thousands of new homes and I’m stepping up action to protect our environment."
Property developers have been campaigning for years to slash eco rules on new builds.
Current tape places a burden on developers to offset any pollution triggered by a new development.
This can leave proposals for desperately needed homes stuck in the planning system for years.
Under new rules Natural England will take on responsibility for mitigating any new pollution.
Funding for the quango's Nutrient Mitigation Scheme will double so it can build new natural habitats and install innovative systems to offset the very small amount of additional waste 100,000 new homes will cause.
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“These new plans will cut nutrients and help support England’s precious habitats whilst unlocking the new homes that local communities need.
“We are going to tackle the key causes of nutrients at source with over £200 million of funding to reduce run off from agriculture and plans to upgrade waste water treatment works through conventional upgrades, catchment approaches and nature-based solutions."
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Matthew Lesh, Director of Public Policy and Communications at the free market Institute of Economic Affairs, said: “The relaxation of nutrient neutrality rules is a crucial step towards addressing the housing crisis. These rules held back tens of thousands of homes for little environmental benefit. The key culprit in river pollution is intensive farming, housing and sewage make a relatively small contribution.
“These rules mean one fewer reason that local councils must reject housebuilding. But there are countless fiddly rules and processes holding back much-needed homes and infrastructure. A government serious about economic growth must go much further and much faster to unshackle the British people.”