AROUND 1,400 new homes could soon be built across Somerset after a major scheme to address the phosphates crisis was agreed.

Report by Daniel Mumby, Local Democracy Reporter.

Around 18,000 homes have been held due to the Dutch N court ruling and the resulting Natural England legal advice, which prohibits any development which would increase phosphate levels within the Somerset Levels and Moors catchment area.

Somerset Council has been seeking various short-term solutions to unlock new homes, ranging from the creation of new wetlands to establishing a phosphate credits system, with developers purchasing credits to fund mitigation.

The council has now agreed a scheme to allow numerous developments to proceed by taking a farm near Shepton Mallet out of use.

The nutrient credit scheme will involve livestock being removed from buildings at Manor Farm, in Prestleigh.

The buildings will be replaced by woodland if planning permission for an alternative use is not approved.

A spokesman for BNG Partnership, which is overseeing the scheme, said: “The farm is a dairy farm which is also used for pigs, sheep and poultry.

“The farm is located adjacent to a watercourse that flows into the River Brue.”

These changes will generate 142.7kg of phosphate mitigation credits – sufficient for around 1,400 houses.

The council said that the precise number of new homes which could be unlocked would depend on the scheme put forward by the various developers interested in the Brue catchment area.

Cllr Ros Wyke, portfolio holder for economic development, planning and assets, said: “We are working hard to minimise delay and uncertainty around planning applications with a countywide nutrient strategy, to identify both short term solutions to help clear the current backlog of planning permissions and longer-term solutions to address the existing and future growth commitments.

“The phosphates issue has prevented the determination of a significant number of planning applications across the county while solutions are being sought, so this nutrient credit scheme is extremely welcome news.”

The council says the scheme had been vetted by Natural England and would deliver a long-term solution to phosphates in this part of the county.

A spokesman said: “Evidence provided to the council by Natural England confirms that a significant percentage of phosphates entering the River Brue catchment comes from agricultural activities and a high percentage of the agricultural impact derives from livestock.

“The Manor Farm nutrient credit scheme was approved on the basis of a thorough examination of phosphate levels being generated at the farm by both Natural England and Somerset Council.

“This included recent phosphate generating uses, with regard also being given to the fact that those uses could be re-commenced at any time. This examination confirmed the level of phosphates being generated by the site which were having an impact on the Somerset Levels and Moors Ramsar site.

“The main function of the nutrient credit scheme is to prevent these uses from re-commencing on the site, thereby reducing the phosphate impact on the Ramsar Site through a legal agreement.

“This facility was capable of operating when the problem arose and the opportunity to permanently remove the livestock facility from operating allows us greater control over the levels of phosphates that will enter the catchment over the next 80-plus years.”