Podcast episode 123: Neutral Impact III (and a bit of Green Belt)

Episode number 123 of the podcast is available now via this link or from Apple and Spotify.

When I first covered nutrient neutrality, in February 2021, I described the process of eutrophication as a bit like the podcast itself: a little niche, but very important.

When I published a second episode in September 2022 it had grown in importance to the extent that Prime Minister Liz Truss had pledged to "scrap nutrient neutrality rules".

A Government press release issued in August 2023 stated that “through an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill (LURB), the Government will do away with this red tape and allow for the delivery of more than 100,000 new homes desperately needed by local communities."”

The LURB amendments in question were subsequently defeated, nutrient neutrality rules have not been scrapped, and 2 June 2024 marks the fifth anniversary of Natural England’s first advice note for LPAs in the Solent Region. The question that I posed in that second Shades episode remains just as pertinent: how far away is a satisfactory resolution in those parts of the country that have been affected?

In order to provide an updated answer to that question I invited old friend of the podcast Rachel Jones and new friends of the podcast Andrew Smith and Gemma Nelmes to share their experiences. Rachel is Ecology Manager at Wiltshire Council; Andrew is Head of Development Management at the Lake District National Park Authority; and Gemma is an Associate at Stantec.

The title of this episode is Neutral Impact III (and a bit of Green Belt). I have very kindly been invited by Richard Kimblin at No. 5 Chambers and Sarah Young at LUC to contribute to a Green Belt Summit that they are holding on Wednesday 3 July. It is in London, but will be available to view online as well. We had a brief preparatory chat about the spur for the summit and the hopes for it, which features in the final section of the episode.

Comments

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‘I began to see what a sacred cow the Green Belt has become’. Richard Crossman, Minister for Housing & Local Government, in 1964. The need for change The mere mention of the words Green Belt raise hackles. There are some who consider it’s present boundaries to be sacrosanct. According to recent Ipsos polling, six in ten people in England would retain it's current extent of Green Belt even if it restricts the country's ability to meet housing needs. There are some, including leader writers at The Economist , who would do away with it all together. Neither position is tenable, but there is a trend towards an entrenchment of these positions that makes sensible conversations about meeting housing needs almost impossible. The status quo is unsustainable, both literally and figuratively. The past In both planning and cultural terms, the notion of a ‘Green Belt’ goes back a long way. Long after Thomas More’s ‘ Utopia ’ and Elizabeth I’s ‘ Cordon Sanitaire ’ in 1580, the roots of

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