Comment

Nitrogen Neutrality in the Solent

Is your residential scheme likely to be affected by Natural England’s objections in relation to nitrogen loading on protected international ecological sites in and around the Solent?

Produced in draft in March 2018, the Integrated Water Management Study highlighted that several designated ecological areas - Special Protection Areas (SPAs), Special Area of Conservation and potential SPA designations - located within the Partnership for South Hampshire (PfSH) and surrounding area have the potential to be affected by increases in discharges of treated sewage effluent from future housing growth.



Following an assessment of the current condition of the protected designations, and in the wake of recent Case Law from the European Court of Justice (known as the ‘Dutch Nitrates Cases’), Natural England tightened up its advice to the Solent local planning authorities in June 2019. Since this time, Natural England has advised against permitting all development proposals involving an ‘overnight stay’ where these would result in any level of increase in nitrogen loading to the designated sites. This advice effectively requires a wide range of development to demonstrate the achievement of ‘nitrogen neutrality’.

Whilst the area affected is still being refined, at present, the nitrogen issue is likely to affect all residential development proposals in the PfSH area (including areas within Winchester and Basingstoke districts, to the north of PfSH) and parts of Chichester District.

The below downloadable PDF summarises the key issues, proposals likely to be affected, how impacts can be mitigated and what we should do now to support the achievement of nitrogen neutral development proposals.

For more information, please contact Peter Home.

Revised 29 October 2019