<p>The government intends to “tackle” nutrient pollution as part of its new Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) that it has published, which sets out a five-year approach to improve the environmental quality of the UK’s air, water and land.</p> <p>Under the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1133077/environmental-improvement-plan-2023.pdf?pk_campaign=newsletter_5976"><span>EIP</span></a>, the government said it would introduce the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (DEFRA) planned nutrient mitigation scheme “to facilitate building thousands of homes while creating new wetland habitat”. This has so far involved DEFRA and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities providing up to £30 million of pump priming investment.</p> <p>The government also said in the EIP that it was “committed” to quickly increasing the supply of mitigation credits for nutrient neutrality to speed up planning permissions and get homes built.</p> <p><span>It stated its commitment to working with local planning authorities, Natural England and the development sector “to ensure that sustainable development can be unlocked across the country as soon as possible”. </span></p> <p><span>The nutrient neutrality issue has stalled the building of thousands of homes. Last July, the government announced a mitigation scheme to help combat the problem. W</span><span>ater and sewerage companies in England were also told they would be duty bound to upgrade …