New legal advice may unlock plans for 12,000 homes

Thousands of new homes could be built after a change in legal advice about river pollution.

The bids to build almost 12,000 homes in Somerset have been in limbo for years after a court ruling restricted developments on land that contains high levels of phosphates.

The moors and levels in the county have increased levels of phosphates due to animal and human waste in its water courses and new developments can have an adverse affect.

However lawyers have concluded that the homes could now be approved simply by allowing Wessex Water to finish all of the upgrades to its large waste water treatment plans by 2030.

Large quantities of phosphates in rivers and lakes can effectively deprive plants and animals of oxygen.

The developments held up by the ruling include sites near Wellington, Langport and Shepton Mallet, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Wessex Water has previously committed to upgrading all the applicable Somerset plants by 1 April, 2030, which could enable new developments.

A spokesperson said in a statement the water company is hoping to invest £820m in river and coastal water quality including removing 1,550 tonnes of nutrients from waterways.

One of the developments has more than 5,200 homes being held up across more than 100 individual sites.

Somerset Councillor Harry Hobhouse - with Somerset Council - commissioned London-based law firm Landmark Chambers to provide a fresh legal opinion.

Mr Hobhouse had calculated around three to four tonnes of phosphates would need to be removed via Wessex Water's treatment plants in order to unlock the entire housing backlog.

The legal opinion effectively rules the firm is "over-engineering" its upgrades to create significant "headroom", meaning there would be capacity to remove a large amount of additional phosphates which will be generated by future housing growth.

Somerset Council has said it accepts the opinion and will "provide further information as soon as possible".

Council officers will now analyse the legal opinion, and use it as a the basis for a new policy on phosphate mitigation.

More information on the new policy is expected to be released by September.

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