Key facts
- The Norfolk Broads EDP allows developers to pay £2,675 per house for 15,780 new homes.
- The plan is criticized for allowing developers to pay into a central fund rather than directly mitigating environmental harm.
- Natural England's plan states the development will increase nitrogen and phosphorus pollution.
- MP Chris Hinchliff alleges the plan breaches the Planning and Infrastructure Act and lacks scientific basis.
- The plan relies on indirect conservation measures like fen cutting and river restoration, not direct pollution reduction from new homes.
Labour's environmental delivery plans (EDPs), which allow developers to pay into a central fund to offset environmental damage from new housing, are facing criticism. The first such plan, for nearly 16,000 homes in the Norfolk Broads, is being called 'cash for trash' by critics who argue it undermines environmental protections. Labour MP Chris Hinchliff has formally requested the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) to intervene, citing concerns that the plan breaches legislation and scientific standards. Natural England, the plan's author, acknowledges that the development will increase nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the already ecologically declining Broads. The plan proposes developers pay a total of £42 million, with critics arguing the proposed conservation measures are insufficient to address the pollution.