Adderstone Living’s development of 23 affordable homes for North Star Housing Group in Newton Aycliffe has a reference number of 0001 on the Natural England nutrient neutrality credit scheme.
The credits allowed the proposals to get through planning and ensure that any impact to waterways from the development were fully mitigated by the long-term protection of a nearby area of wild grassland.
The site falls within the Teesmouth and Cleveland nutrient neutrality constraint area and Adderstone Living’s application has been successful within the requirements of the Natural England mitigation scheme. This means the project can progress as it has demonstrated that there will be no net increase in nutrients as a result of development.
Approval has been granted by Durham County Council, and onsite building work will follow in 2024, with the first properties available in early 2025.
Adderstone Living managing director Stephen McCoy said: “It makes me so proud that our brilliant team has guaranteed the preservation of a beautiful little ecosystem in North Durham. It shows that partnering with local nature focused charities to generate and fund nutrient neutrality credits, is a workable solution to a problem that is reportedly stalling the delivery of 100,000 much needed new homes.”
Progress has also been made on the issue elsewhere, with local authorities' own nutrient neutrality initiatives. In Herefordshire, for example, developers have been paying the county council for credits to fund wetland schemes that it is creating within the River Wye special area of conservation (SAC) catchment, unblocking housing developments that have been blocked for four years.
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
