Green levy on Norfolk homes faces environmental objections

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 18 Oct, 07:02 · Archive

Environmental groups object to a proposed levy on Norfolk housing developers, saying it fails to protect rivers.

The government has selected Norfolk to pilot a new initiative to tackle pollution on waterways from new housing developments. Under the Environmental Delivery Plan, which is out for consultation, developers would pay £2,675 per house into a nature restoration fund for conservation measures on the rivers Wensum, Yare and Bure. The scheme aims to allow 16,000 homes to be built in the county.

Environmental groups have raised formal objections to the plan. National conservation charity WildFish said the scheme is 'drafted to override protections for the rivers through payment into the levy'. The charity argued there were 'mistakes in the assessment of the increase in nutrient pollution, the incompleteness of the analysis of impacts and a failure to take into account other major pressures from the development including from water resource demand'.

Norfolk Wildlife Trust's chief executive Eliot Lyne said the organisation had 'many concerns' about the proposal. Environmentalists worry that while the levy pays for mitigation measures, it does not stop the root causes of pollution affecting the rivers, which feed the Norfolk Broads, Britain's largest protected wetland.

How it is being reported

• Fears new 'green levy' on housing will override protections for Norfolk's riversA proposed new 'green' levy on Norfolk housing developers to unlock thousands of new homes has been formally objected to by environmentalists.Eastern Daily Press · 18 Oct, 06:20
• Fears new 'green levy' on housing will override protections for Norfolk's riversA proposed new 'green' levy on Norfolk housing developers to unlock thousands of new homes has been formally objected to by environmentalists.Norwich Evening News · 18 Oct, 06:20

In this story: Norfolk · WildFish · Norfolk Wildlife Trust · Rivers Wensum, Yare and Bure · Norfolk Broads · Eliot Lyne

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