Responding to the government’s announcement on planned reforms to nutrient neutrality laws, Robert Colvile, Director of the Centre for Policy Studies, said:
‘These reforms are badly needed. As we and others have repeatedly warned, the crude and unworkable interpretation of the original ECJ ruling on nutrient neutrality has blocked and delayed a huge number of housing projects. The Home Builders Federation estimates that 145,000 homes have been affected. The same level of environmental protection can be secured at vastly less economic cost with a more flexible and effective regulatory framework.
‘These reforms do a far better job of reconciling the need to build homes with the need to protect the environment, not least by greater central funding for phosphate and nitrogen reduction and tighter treatment sewage standards.’
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
- Robert Colvile is the Director of the Centre for Policy Studies
- For further information, please contact Emma Revell, CPS Head of Communications, on 07931 698246 and [email protected]
- The Centre for Policy Studies is one of the oldest and most influential think tanks in Westminster. With a focus on taxation, economic growth, business, welfare, education, housing and green growth, its goal is to develop policies that widen enterprise, ownership and opportunity.
Date Added: Tuesday 29th August 2023
