Wiltshire Council Local Plan: Housing proposals could impact sewage

This is a statement made by the CEO of Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, Dr Gary Mantle, who is calling on residents to contact MP John Glen to request the government to not abandon its ‘Nutrient Neutrality Scheme.’

Pumping sewage into rivers (Image: Photo Agency)

The scheme was introduced to stop additional pollution entering waterways as a result of new housing developments. With more than 1000 newly-proposed homes for the Salisbury area, it could increase the risk to rivers and impact an already-under-pressure sewage system.

Read more: Sewage and toxic chemicals - how polluted are Salisbury's rivers?

Dr Mantle said: “Wiltshire’s rivers are internationally important and the most biodiverse in Britain. We should be proud of them, not polluting them. Every new house leads to more sewage that has to be treated and more nutrients entering our rivers."

The Government has stated that one of the reasons why house building targets are not being met is due to the 'Nutrient Neutrality' legislation. Concerns about adding to the damage caused to our rivers by excessive nutrients has led to 74 councils across the country halting developments while a solution is found.

Read more: Wiltshire Council Local Plan proposes new housing developments

Dr Mantle added: “The Nutrient Neutrality scheme is simply a means of matching the extra burden caused by new developments with a nature-based solution that removes an equivalent amount somewhere else.

"Government should not be looking to weaken the protection of our rivers from sewage, but to remove the blockages to implementing the nature-based solutions.”

In 2022, 2986 hours of sewage spilt into rivers in and around Salisbury. With human sewage containing bacteria and viruses, it can lead to serious health consequences for anyone going into a river.

In the Wiltshire Council Local Plan, a paragraph states that ‘pressures on the river catchment are noted by the Environmental Agency and it is important to restore the River Avon Special Area of Conservation to ‘favourable’ condition.’

It also states ' Wessex Water and Natural England are advising on sustainable levels of water abstraction from the Avon that can be permitted for the consumption arising from additional housing development.'  

A Wessex Water spokesperson said: “We’re already making significantly increased investment in our sewerage network to meet the needs of a growing population, but we also need changes in legislation so developers can’t connect surface water to combined sewers.

“Our supply grid means water can be transferred across the Wessex Water region, reducing the amount we abstract by 23.5 million litres per day, and we’re able to ‘top up’ rivers by pumping water from underground sources to maintain river flows through the year.

“We have a water resources management plan which ensures we’re already taking further steps to meet our customers’ demand from 2025 to 2080.”

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The Wildlife Trusts along with landholders and environmental organisations are prepared to invest in landscape-scale nature recovery schemes, but the situation could be made worse if the government abandons the protections already in place.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that any harm resulting from new development should be appropriately mitigated.

"We work closely with Natural England, which provides specialist advice to Wiltshire Council, to ensure this is considered in the planning process.”