Ban on New Residential Development Across 74 UK local planning authorities

[Temp]

This might be of interest although it's from 2020. It suggests planning conditions requiring mitigation may not be enforceable if its not possible for you to comply..

 

https://www.winchester.gov.uk/assets/attach/21906/CAB3219-Appendix-A-Position-Statement-Nitrate-Neutrality.pdf

Quote

 

Paragraph 55 of the National Planning Policy Framework make it clear that planning conditions should only be used when they satisfy 6 tests, which require them to be necessary; relevant to planning; relevant to the development to be permitted; enforceable; precise and reasonable in all other respects.

 

Mitigation which may be required off site may involve land that is not within the control of the applicant, or requires the consent or authorisation of another person or body will usually fail the tests of reasonableness and enforceability. It is however possible to achieve a similar result using a condition worded in a negative form (Grampian condition). This could for example prohibit occupation until a specified action has taken place. Such conditions should not be used where there are no prospects at all of the action in question being performed within the time-limit imposed by the permission. 

 

 

There are time limits to appeal conditions.

[ToughButterCup]

12 hours ago, Temp said:

So have they basically vetoed any new connection to the sewerage system?

 

@Chanmenie, could I nudge you please to respond to @Temp ? 

[Jilly]

I 'onestly thought it sounded like an April fool. 

 

Anyways, back to my favourite subject, compost loos. There are ones which meet building regulations. If it's holding up a project, I would definitely install one and put the infrastructure in for the future when it's resolved. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Chanmenie]

14 hours ago, Temp said:

 

So have they basically vetoed any new connection to the sewerage system?

 

 

They havent actually said that. They don’t know what the answer is yet.

[Ferdinand]

1 hour ago, Jilly said:

I 'onestly thought it sounded like an April fool. 

 

Anyways, back to my favourite subject, compost loos. There are ones which meet building regulations. If it's holding up a project, I would definitely install one and put the infrastructure in for the future when it's resolved. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's a lot in that, and that may be the easy way out - keep it on site.

 

The are umpteen threads on BH about composting loos. Here's a fairly comprehensive one a couple of years old:

 

I love that letter, @Temp - 25 pages including 13 Appendices.

[bob the builder 2]

Thanks to everyone who has commented / added advice.

 

So we are now 6 weeks since the 'surprise' natural England advice effectively halted all new build planning approvals in England.

 

Appreciate if anyone has any news on things improving or ways to unblock this planning madness.

 

Bob 

[Chanmenie]

Not expecting any decisions any time soon

waiting to speak to my planning officer if she ever returns my calls  

will keep you posted 

[AD1]

I have also been affected by this, my planning application decision date was due 6th May and has now been completely frozen with no end in sight. Annoyingly, my site already has planning permission but decided to change the design to suit us, meaning I could start building tomorrow but not the house I want!!

 

I am expecting to see a mitigation scheme implemented at the cost of selfbuilder/developers similar to what was implemented for the Solent areas. 

 

As with most planning issues I can see this dragging on without a real solution. Please keep any updates posted. 

 

AD

[Mulberry View]

On 26/04/2022 at 17:02, Chanmenie said:

Not expecting any decisions any time soon

waiting to speak to my planning officer if she ever returns my calls  

will keep you posted 

 

We're also in Norwich. Our full planning application was approved last July, but we have a round of minor amendments to go in. Will this be affected? We do have a couple of conditions to discharge also.

[Chanmenie]

1 hour ago, Mulberry View said:

 

We're also in Norwich. Our full planning application was approved last July, but we have a round of minor amendments to go in. Will this be affected? We do have a couple of conditions to discharge also.

Do you have a drainage condition ?

[bob the builder 2]

Mulberry

 

Unfortunately yes - we also have a full planning approval which is now blocked under the drainage condition and some minor amends.

 

Madness ....

[CharlieKLP]

I’ve had a few rejected because of ‘nitrates’ recently, they couldn’t mitigate it at all. They suggested buying a reed bed somewhere to offset it, but no luck.

 

this was a house on a site in a town, in someone’s back garden. Just crazy.

[Mulberry View]

21 hours ago, Chanmenie said:

Do you have a drainage condition ?

 

Yes. We have a current condition to discharge sewage to a packaged treatment plant, but one of our amendments is to connect the property to mains drainage as a solution to do so presented itself. Our LPA verbally agreed with our approach, but I presume they will amend the existing treatment plant condition to be one relating to discharge of drainage. Also, we have a condition to submit a surface water plan before we progress beyond foundation level.

 

Clearly these conditions won't be discharged, so does that mean we are actually unable to progress beyond foundation level or that we can proceed but at some sort of risk?

[Chanmenie]

You are in same boat as I am, so you cannot proceed above slab level. As stated by the condition.

[MG-Wales]

On 27/04/2022 at 12:53, AD1 said:

I have also been affected by this, my planning application decision date was due 6th May and has now been completely frozen with no end in sight. Annoyingly, my site already has planning permission but decided to change the design to suit us, meaning I could start building tomorrow but not the house I want!!

 

I am expecting to see a mitigation scheme implemented at the cost of selfbuilder/developers similar to what was implemented for the Solent areas. 

 

As with most planning issues I can see this dragging on without a real solution. Please keep any updates posted. 

 

AD

I don't know if it is of any help, but we had a similar issue in our plot in Wales (in our area phosphates have been effectively stopping planning since late 2020) and we managed to get around it by modifying the original planning permission via a Non Material Amendment.

We kept the overall shape of the building, but changed all fenestration, amended the internal layout, added a timber clad cantilever feature, removed dormers and increased the size of the garage to make it a double garage.

We didn't have any conditions regarding drainage though.

[Mulberry View]

On 03/05/2022 at 13:13, Chanmenie said:

You are in same boat as I am, so you cannot proceed above slab level. As stated by the condition.

 

I read over the weekend that the Long Stratton bypass and the 1800-odd new homes planned within the same project now hangs in the balance. Maybe that'll be a good leverage to sorting this mess out.

[Big Jimbo]

I take it this madness relates to new build on virgin land rather than any replacement dwelling ?

[Chanmenie]

1 hour ago, Big Jimbo said:

I take it this madness relates to new build on virgin land rather than any replacement dwelling ?

Yeah it’s new connections to main sewer 

[bob the builder 2]

Hi All

 

Any new build, even if it has permission, which has not signed off any condition related to drainage or sewage is blocked in all impacted 74 English local council areas.

 

Obviously if you are waiting for permission in these areas of any new build you are also blocked.

 

Even areas like the Solent which started to arrange mitigation schemes in 2019 are now blocked as 'Phosphorous' has now been added to the existing 'Nitrate' issue. No scheme in the country has a mitigation for Phosphorous ! 

 

For those of you considering starting down the self build route in these areas - stop - go an buy a house and forget about it (or go to another area)

 

Those of us who are too far down the line and committed realistically we are in a 12 - 24 month delay.

 

Madness...

 

[Big Jimbo]

Bob the builder. What even a replacement dwelling ? Existing house already connected to mains.

[Mulberry View]

Well, our current planning permission is for connection to a packaged treatment plant and the conditions relate to that. We want to put in an amendment to allow connection to mains drain, which we now realise is feasible but I think can wait.

Even though we desire the mains route eventually, maybe we need to accept the treatment plant route for now and make the mains connection amendment much later on when all this shenanigans is over?

We have a condition that we must submit a surface water drainage plan before we progress beyond foundation level, which we haven't discharged. Surely as long as we can show that our surface water will be handled via Rainwater Harvesting and Soakaways, we'll be OK on that?

 

We have a condition that imposes the implementation of a packaged treatment plant prior to first occupation, which again we haven't discharged. We do not need to discharge it yet, so we can carry on as we are by the looks of it and submit the mains connection scenario as a later amendment much further down the line?

 

Presumably none of our other amendments (window sizes etc) will be refused?

 

 

[bob the builder 2]

HI

 

@Big jimbo - replacement dwellings may be ok as there is an existing house which already has a nitrate output (i.e. no new nitrates)

 

@Mulberry view - worth checking if you will be allowed to clear those conditions without being blocked 

 

Bob 

[jack]

On 16/04/2022 at 22:53, dpmiller said:

spot all the English that can't tell someone's religion from whether they say "aitch" or "haitch"

 

I had a couple of friends from New Zealand many years who were all over that. Asked an Australian friend of mine if he'd gone to a Catholic school because he said "haitch". Oddly enough, he had done exactly that.

[Chanmenie]

2 hours ago, bob the builder 2 said:

HI

 

@Big jimbo - replacement dwellings may be ok as there is an existing house which already has a nitrate output (i.e. no new nitrates)

 

@Mulberry view - worth checking if you will be allowed to clear those conditions without being blocked 

 

Bob 

No you can’t clear the conditions they won’t discharge any conditions at present until they have a mitigation plan.

I have full planning approved including connecting to main sewer, but I’m in the same boat as I have a condition for surface water drainage. Which is frustrating because my surface water will go to a soakaway and I am many miles from any watercourse and the broads.

[CharlieKLP]

I haven’t heard any kind of plan yet but will post when I hear something… it just seems like it’s either 12 months or 3 months added on to your planning. Doesn’t matter if it’s one house or 100 on a site. 
 

The planners haven’t even clearly said that if you have planning in the bag but have to sort out a condition etc, that your 3 year deadline to build will be extended. 
 

It’s pretty bad form when we all know the solution with be to pay to give farmers grants or pay for some treatment on site anyway. I doubt they will fix the sewage pipes discharging into rivers that quickly.