Has solution been found for housing limbo halting thousands of new builds?

Natural England has told Norfolk councils they must not grant permission for any projects involving overnight accommodation until developers can prove the plans will not lead to more nutrients flowing into waterways.

To overcome the nutrient neutrality challenges developers have had to create mitigating features.

Orbit Homes previously had its reserved matters application to Broadland District Council for 272 homes on former orchard land north of Smee Lane, Great Plumstead, on the edge of Norwich, delayed because of the Natural England ruling.

The proposed layout of the 272-home site on land south of Smee Lane, Great Plumstead, including the treatment plant (Image: Orbit Homes)

Yet in its amended plans, Orbit has but to build a small-scale treatment plant to abate environmental concerns.

And this, experts believe, could be the key to getting Norfolk's house building boom firing again.

Eleanor Laming, Broadland district councillor for Brundall (Image: Archant)

Eleanor Laming, Green district councillor for the Brundall ward, said: "Nutrient neutrality has halted a lot of planning applications.

"This is one of the first times I have seen plans for a community treatment plant. I don't know if this could turn out to be common."

Thorpe St Andrew county councillor Ian Mackie next to the River Yare in the town

Ian Mackie, Thorpe St Andrew's Conservative county councillor, said developments should look to include "small clusters of infrastructure" including treatment centres and solar panels.

He added: "Protecting the environment has got to be paramount.

"Being innovative, sustainable and accessible are important for developments."

The planning statement for the project added: "This plant will require adoption by an OFWAT registered sewerage undertaker and Waterlevel have provided an agreement in principle to adopt the facility.

"In addition to the proposed foul water mitigation, the proposal has been amended to include additional surface water treatment trains that will reduce nutrient run-off from the site."

Orbit could not confirm how big the plant would be.

If approved, work on the new site would start in Summer 2023.

Phil Courtier, director of place at South Norfolk Council and Broadland District Council, said: "Developers are absolutely coming with their own schemes to try to address the requirements.

"There is a challenge because a scheme has to be a few hundred houses to be able to provide that sort of on-site mitigation."

A Natural England spokeswoman said: “Natural England, working alongside our partners, will support planning authorities and developers to build sustainable new homes that contribute to healthy rivers, lakes and estuaries nearby.

“Without mitigation, extra wastewater from new housing developments can contribute to the decline of our protected wetland sites such as the Broads, and undermine our efforts to recover these sites back to the healthy habitats they should be.

“We are unable to comment on this individual application at the current time as we are still in the process of making our statutory response to Broadland District Council.”