Thousands of new Somerset homes could be unlocked from November 2026

Thousands of Somerset homes which have been held up by the ongoing phosphates crisis could begin being unlocked by the end of this year.

Around 12,000 homes across Somerset are currently in limbo, with developers having to secure additional mitigation to prevent any net increase in phosphates on the Somerset Levels and Moors.

Since August 2020, Somerset Council has been working with developers and central government on multiple different solutions to move major developments forward and ease Somerset’s housing crisis.

Now fresh hope is on the horizon following the passing of the government’s Planning and Infrastructure Act and the creation of environmental delivery plans (EDPs) – which councillors have welcomed as “a serious advance”.

Here’s everything you need to know:

What is the phosphates crisis?

Phosphates can enter rivers and other watercourses through a number of methods, ranging from fertiliser and animal waste being washed off farmland to human sewage.

Large quantities of phosphates in rivers and lakes can cause eutrophication and large algae blooms, which can deprive plants and animals living in these habitats of oxygen.

The Dutch N court ruling outlaws any developments which increase either phosphate or nitrate levels within Ramsar sites – that is, wetlands or other low-lying areas which are protected under international law.

The resulting legal advice from Natural England, which was published in August 2020, identified 16 “sensitive catchment areas” across the UK where this ruling would apply – including three either in Somerset or on its border.

In addition to the Somerset Levels and Moors (which includes the catchments of the River Brue, the River Parrett and the River Tone), Somerset’s rivers also flow into the River Axe catchment in east Devon and the Poole Harbour catchment in Dorset.

In order to build any form of new development – from houses and commercial units to agricultural barns – the developer and the local authorities would have to agree additional mitigation which would offset the phosphates generated from the development site.

What has been tried so far?

To date, phosphate mitigation has taken a number of forms at specific sites, including:

Creating new wetlands, which can filter out and absorb phosphates (such as at the Staplegrove urban extension in Taunton)

Fallowing agricultural land, taking it out of active production and potentially replacing it with woodland (such as the Canal Way development in Ilminster)

Upgrading waste water treatment plants, removing phosphates from sewage (such as at the Lowerside Lane site in Glastonbury)

Upgrading septic tanks with package treatment plants, which take more phosphates out before they leave a residential area (such as at the planned Nynehead Road development in Wellington)

Both Somerset Council and private companies have also created ‘phosphate credit’ schemes, whereby the developer will pay for off-site mitigation to offset the impact of new homes – at an average cost of around £34,000 to remove one kilogram of phosphates.

On top of this, the council secured £9.6m in central government grants in December 2023 to fund several projects designed to deliver further mitigation.

Three of these projects are being taken forward – namely:

The creation of new wetlands on either council-owned land or private sites (at a projected cost of £5.6m)

The creation of ‘temporary’ or ‘bridging’ phosphate credits (providing mitigation up to 2030 without fallowing more land) by growing miscanthus grass and trialling new technology (£3.5m)

Upgrading sewage treatment plants near rural council houses in the former Taunton Deane area (£1m)

Taunton resident David Orr – who has been a frequent critic of the council’s approach to the phosphates crisis – raised the issue at a meeting of the climate and place scrutiny committee on January 15.

He said: “The current nutrient neutrality policy, following Natural England’s guidance to the letter, has not only failed to direct specific funding towards restoring nature on our world-class Levels and Moors, but has damaged the economy and communities across Somerset – with 12,000 vitally needed homes unbuilt, including 3,600 social and affordable homes.

“This flawed policy has also denied this council much-needed developer funding and income towards avoiding effective bankruptcy.

“Funding towards infrastructure, social and affordable housing, schools and doctors has been swallowed up by the phosphate mitigation calculator.

“It is the ultimate ‘computer says no’ policy, put in by a spreadsheet deity which is never to be questioned.”

What about the water companies?

Under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (known colloquially as LURA), water companies were ordered to upgrade their waste water treatment plants to remove larger quantities of phosphates than was originally permitted.

These upgrades must be implemented by May 2031 and must be applied to all waste water treatment plants which serve a population of 2,000 or more people.

Wessex Water has publicly committed to upgrading all the applicable Somerset plants by April 1, 2030, and entered into an agreement with the council to implement “stretch permits” at its Langport, Taunton and Wells sites which will see additional phosphates removed on top of the LURA requirements.

What about the Supreme Court ruling?

The Supreme Court ruled in October 2025 that any development which had secured outline planning permission before August 2020 did not need to provide any additional mitigation as part of a reserved matters application (which covers the detailed design and layout of the homes).

This ruling was made in relation to the Jurston Fields development on the A38 West Buckland Road in Wellington – with the judgement allowing work to move forward on the final phases of construction.

This judgement has meant that a number of other developments with outline consent have been able to move forward – including 35 homes on Lyndhurst Grove in Martock and 28 homes on Head Street in Tintinhull.

The council’s chief planning officer Alison Blom-Cooper revealed in late-January that decisions on 208 new homes within the Orchard Grove site in Taunton could be brought forward in the coming months to take advantage of the Supreme Court’s decision.

What is the latest change?

The Planning and Infrastructure Act (which received royal assent just before Christmas) seeks to introduce a range of new mitigation measures, intended to boost the environment while meeting the government’s target of delivering 1.5 million new homes by 2029.

These measures include the creation of environmental development plans (EDPs), whereby developers can take “a more strategic approach” rather than mitigating for individual sites.

Natural England’s 2020 legal advice requires developers to offset the phosphates impact of any new development, rather than making improvements on top of that – leaving the Levels and Moors (and Somerset’s wider ecosystem) in “a standstill position”.

The environmental delivery plans will be “potentially of much broader benefit”, with developers being encouraged to reinstate nature and improve biodiversity.

Mr Orr welcomed the news, stating: “Natural England is finally recognising this council’s long-standing view that a nature recovery fund, dedicated to recovering nature and ring-fenced to the Levels and Moors, is the best way forward.

“This council is the competent authority in this matter, with Natural England’s guidance being advisory rather than statutory.

“That equally applies to the new system with EDPs, which are only legal if this council approves them.”

How has the council responded?

Councillor Henry Hobhouse (who sought independent legal advice to challenge Natural England’s approach) said that the new approach would help to bring down the cost of phosphate mitigation across Somerset and deliver much-needed new homes.

He told the committee: “We have different levels of money being put in by the developers – I understand in Taunton it’s about £5,000 of phosphate mitigation per house because of the sewage farms being cleaned up, whereas in my division we are still talking about £25,000 to £34,000 a house, because my local sewage farms are too small and haven’t been cleaned up.”

Many of Wessex Water’s smaller plants (which serve communities of up to 1,000 people) will not be upgraded in the near-future – although improvements to these smaller plants will be carried out over the border in Dorset.

Mr Hobhouse (who represents Castle Cary and the neighbouring villages) continued: “This leads to a real problem to the Section 106 agreements with every development in Somerset. The money for phosphate mitigation was going to the farmers, and it was unenforced.

“I have one area that I know of where 30 acres was fallowed to mitigate 200 houses and the farmer has been spreading manure all over the fallowed fields.

“The new proposals are a serious advance. The proposed scheme transfers the money to Natural England to manage the biodiversity on the Levels and Moors.

“This council is still in charge – that is not altered. We have not, up until this point, actually used this position to improve Somerset, and this is an opportunity to do so.

“We’re going to cut the Section 106 planning times, we’re going to make the paperwork easier, and we’re going to have one figure for the mitigation for every new house in Somerset so that the collection of those funds will be considerably quicker and easier.”

Councillor Simon Coles (Taunton East) was supportive of the new approach, stating: “We do need to get on with this.

“The delays are inordinate and very, very expensive for developers, landowners and people that want to buy new homes in our area.

“It has been far too long already – we can’t hold back any longer unnecessarily. We need to get everything moving properly and quickly.”

How soon could these changes come into force?

Mr Hobhouse said that the government will select the areas which will be covered by EDPs by the spring, with the provisions of the Planning and Infrastructure Act taking effect by the autumn.

He said: “We will have a management system looking at the Levels and Moors with the EDPs. There is a lot of work to be done on that, and I wish to make our working group part of the way we look at that.

“This change will come into effect in April. The government will decide where the EDPs are, they will be managed by Natural England and will be in effect from November.”

Chris Hall, the council’s executive director for community, place and economy, said that the council’s current position would remain in place until many of the fine details had been ironed out with the government.

He said: “Natural England’s advice holds significant weight as they are a statutory consultee. Should we deviate from its advice, we must be able to robustly why and be able to defend any deviation while determining applications.

“We do not yet have a positon on environmental delivery plans. We are exploring that with Natural England.”