Agenda item - Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund Award

To consider a report on funding via the Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund to increase the supply of phosphate mitigation projects to unlock impacted developments. The report also requests approval of the Council interim delivery strategy for the utilisation of this funding.

That the Strategic Planning Committee noted:

a. The content of the report and the activity across the three affected river catchments that feed into the Somerset Levels and Moors (Tone, Parrett, and Brue) which continues to unlock the delivery of housing and affected development to ensure nutrient neutrality.

b. The recent legislative changes introduced by the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, (as summarised in paragraphs 37 to 39 of the report).

That the Strategic Planning Committee agreed:

c. to delegate authority to the Head of Planning / Chief Planning Officer in consultation with the Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee to:

i. oversee the delivery of the interim delivery strategy including approving any documents (e.g. Section 106 agreements) needed to support implementation of the interim delivery strategy, enclosed as Appendix A.

ii. spend up to £9.6m from the Local Nutrient Mitigation Capital Funding to deliver nutrient mitigation schemes in line with grant conditions and promised outstanding government funding in financial year 2024/25.

iii. commit to the spend of the Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund, on the delivery of nutrient mitigation with the indicative programme of spend as detailed in Table 4 of Appendix A; to the report

For 4, Against 1, Abstention 1.

The planning officer introduced their report to the committee with the help of a power point presentation and with other officers giving additional information.

The presentation and report were to update the committee on recent work undertaken in relation to nutrient neutrality in the Somerset Levels and Moors and River Axe SAC., along with an update on the Local Nutrient Mitigation fund and the delivery of phosphate mitigation projects in the Levals and Moors.

After the presentation, committee members asked for further information on the following matters:

Confirmation requested on number of homes in the pipeline affected by the nutrients issue – this will be confirmed after the meeting as to whether it was 14,000 or 1400 homes.

In response to a question, Wessex Water confirmed that they were unable to accept income outside the revenue cap as set by the Economic Regulator, respect to waste water sites and the processes involved in providing mitigation, there was also an issue with the supply chain as part of the Asset Management Plan that is in place and so there is nothing more that Wessex Water can do currently.

The officer went through the details of the funding received from the Government and also the proposed projects and benefits that they were hoping to achieve with this funding, highlighting other opportunities for the use of some of the materials being used for salinity solutions, e.g. use of willow as well as miscanthus being used for packaging, biofuel burning.

It was also agreed that the legal advice on the phosphates issues would be distributed to Councillors and for the presentations be published on the website.

The recommendations were then proposed by Councillor Coles and seconded by Councillor Dunk.

Resolved: