Gosport MP Dame Caroline Dinenage welcomes Government move to unblock redevelopent of brownfield sites

Currently, legacy EU laws on nutrient neutrality are blocking the delivery of regenerative housing programmes by causing delays, increasing the cost and sometimes forcing cancellation altogether.

In Gosport, this has been the reason that several regenerative projects have been delayed or blocked, including High Street redevelopments.

Through an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, the Government will do away with this red tape and allow for the delivery of more than 100,000 new homes.

Dame Caroline has been working to rectify the issues caused by this red tape, having seen the detrimental impact it has had in her own constituency.

Welcoming the news, she said: “I’m very pleased that the government have overturned these old EU regulations.

"Preventing redevelopment of old, unused and eyesore sites is harmful to Gosport’s economy, and the regulations did very little to protect the environment.

“I am glad that, coupled with other environmental measures to protect against nitrate pollution, the government has been able to unleash our economic potential by unblocking these redevelopment programmes which will help us to protect our heritage, rejuvenate brownfield sites and benefit our economy.

“This has come after a lot of hard work lobbying successive ministers and meetings in Number 10.”

Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said: "We are committed to building the homes this country needs and to enhancing our environment. The way EU rules have been applied has held us back.

"These changes will provide a multi-billion pound boost for the UK economy.

“Protecting the environment is paramount which is why the measures we’re announcing today will allow us to go further to protect and restore our precious waterways whilst still building the much-needed homes this country needs.”

Environmental campaigners, however, have accused the Government of going back on its word and suggested the change would allow developers to cut corners, with the chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts branding it a “disgraceful move”.

Craig Bennett, said: “In May, June and July, the Government made promises to the British people and to Parliament that they would not lower environmental protections or standards.

“But just a few weeks later they are planning to do precisely the opposite. They lied – this is a disgraceful move which undermines public trust in this Government.

“Make no mistake – this is a license from the Government for the commercial housebuilding lobby to profit from the pollution of our rivers."

Policy director for Greenpeace UK, Dr Doug Parr, added: “Who would look at our sickly, sewage-infested rivers and conclude that what they need is weaker pollution rules? No-one.”