Prices revealed for developers environment credits

Developers wanting to build in the River Stour catchment area of Kent have been told how much they will have to pay to mitigate the effects of nutrients going into the river.

In 2024 Canterbury City and Ashford Borough councils set up a joint venture company called Stour Environmental Credits Ltd in a bid to allow the building of up to 2,000 homes.

Nutrient neutrality aims to ensure nutrient levels in rivers, already high because of sewage effluent and run-off from farmland, do not increase further.

Developers will be able to buy phosphourous credits at £3,500 per 0.1kg, and nitrogen credits at £235 per 0.1kg.

The effects of nutrients would be neutralised through schemes such as retrofitting better water flow systems in council housing stock, improving wastewater treatment, creating buffer strips by wetland habitats and encouraging farmers to plant winter crops on land that would otherwise be left bare.

The joint venture company will work with planning authorities to identify proposed developments that have stalled because they do not currently have nutrient neutrality credits.

It is hoped many of those plans which have been held up, including affordable housing, could quickly be unlocked.

In 2020 Natural England expressed concern about the effect these chemicals was having on the Stodmarsh Nature Reserve.

Kent Wildlife Trust says: "We believe that there is a way to build new properties and protect wildlife in the Stour River catchment area.

"Our nutrient mitigation scheme is more cost effective, easier to implement and will provide mitigation with no lag time.

"To mitigate the current effects of high nitrogen and phosphorous levels on the River Stour, we're keen to use our in-house natural capital expertise to deliver Nature-based Solutions."

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