Housebuilders could get a free pass to pollute

Rumours suggest that Environment Secretary Therese Coffey is planning to pass new legislation to make housebuilders exempt from river pollution rules before the general election hits.

Rumours suggest that Environment Secretary Therese Coffey is planning to pass new legislation to make housebuilders exempt from river pollution rules before the general election hits.

The government recently failed to water down nutrient neutrality requirements in the Levelling Up Bill after the Lords defeated the move. So they are trying again, but it will come as no surprise if Coffey's Bill faces similar scrutiny in the other place.

This is especially true after the Lords Build Environment Committee reported last week that there is a significant risk that the government will fail to deliver on its housing and environmental ambitions. The inquiry that led to the report heard that 45,000 new homes a year might not be delivered as a result of current pollution rules, and I think that the Conservatives naively see ripping up the rulebook as a quick way out.

Buried in this mess is another admission to a delay to Biodiversity net gain rules for developers - despite the UK being the 7th most nature-depleted nation in the world.

The news seems at odds with the kind of policies that would be winning blue wall swing voters over. With anti-housebuilding and sewage being high on the list for these typically rural communities, this policy essentially says the opposite of what they want.

Perhaps the Conservatives are trying to get the youth vote on side. Building new houses is a surefire way to do so, and while the group is also favourable to environmental regulations, the desperation many are facing with the housing market may let this one slide.

All in all, though, I think this is more of an ideological endeavour than a vote-winning exercise, as the people they really need to win over likely won't appreciate the change.