Thread by @Jamesxparsons

My first @BBCCountryfile *EXCLUSIVE* has revealed the full extent of the #phosphates and #nitrates crisis in England... there are now 30,000+ homes effectively on ice 🧊. Last year, @BorisJohnson said he would use a 'dyno-rod' to unblock the housing logjam… but still no plunger.

The 💩 crisis has left 30,267 homes currently stuck across the planning systems of 9 counties in England due to updated planning advice from @NaturalEngland, which has asked to see scientific certainty in any proposed mitigation measures where development is arising near SACs

In Cornwall – 940 homes;
Hampshire – around 4425 homes;
Herefordshire – 1,650 homes;
Kent - 16,258 homes;
Somerset – 5949 homes;
West Sussex – 1,000 homes;
Dorset – 44 homes and
Devon – 1 home are all in limbo & will stay unless developers demonstrate 'nutrient neutrality'

Since the programme aired, I’ve had confirmation from @ShropCouncil that they have between 150 and 200 dwellings held up due to their potential impacts on the protected River Clun SAC.

The problem is spreading through Wales too. At present, only 100+ homes are on ice but some Welsh County Councils have told me that they expect the figures to increase as time goes on.

Through FOI, @NatResWales confirmed with me that it's issued updated nutrient planning advice advice to 11 county councils and 3 national park authorities... there are only 22 unitary county and county borough councils in Wales.

The problem is serious: phosphates & nitrates are vital micronutrients for soil health but in excess amounts they act like a steroid on the natural environment, encouraging monster algal blooms that smother precious water bodies, starving them of oxygen and killing life below...

Our story focused on the English-Welsh border and the River Wye where @joe_crowley sought answers from farmers, housebuilders, the regulators and ecologists about who's really to blame for the huge swells in phosphate surges along the protected River Wye.

An assessment by @EnvAgency of the Wye, estimates the chief source of pollution (~60%+) is agricultural and waste water from existing homes (~25%). Sustainable house builder @MerryAlbright has estimated new homes on the Wye contribute less than 1% of phosphate loading.

But as @NFUCymru work with data provided by @NatResWales and the report sent to @HfdsCouncil is a compilation of estimates and a beleaguered monitoring programme by @EnvAgency ... there's an interesting 'regulatory gap' forming across both countries.

Not only that but the estimated % of pollution source varies across counties e.g. in Somerset it's more of a 50/50 split between diffuse agricultural pollution and wastewater. But has @NaturalEngland fingered the wrong perp at large?

Along the Wye, campaigners like @CPRW_UK and @RiverActionUK blame the meteoric rise in new intensive poultry units in @PowysCC. Chicken manure is one of the most nutrient rich 💩 but @NatResWales concluded last year no link clear link between the poo and pollution.

After our programme went to edit, @CPRW_UK also launched their draft interactive map charting pig and IPU developments throughout the Welsh Wye catchment. Go check that out... brecon-and-radnor-cprw.wales/?page_id=2373

A huge part of the problem is a lack of robust data. The lack of information on the quality of our rivers in England and Wales is stark. That's why community groups like @FriendsUpperWye are stepping up to provide and fill in the blanks for the regulators to asses water quality.

In the interim, @WelshGovernment has put in place a nation-wide nitrate vulnerable zone (NVZ) to tackle the slurry problems beleaguering Welsh waterways. According to the latest EU datasets, agriculture is responsible for around ~12% of pollution incidents.

This is something @nfucymru president John Davies said was too much but localised. So union has issued a legal challenge against the government's countrywide NVZ implemented on 1 April 2021. This will phase in tighter controls on slurry and manure management.

But John Davies and the team argue the roll out is unscientific and that local solutions should fix local problems. There are some big costs involved judging by the numbers with the main increase in the next few years where slurry storage rules change.

We did question @NFUCymru on an evidence session led by the Wales Land Management Forum chaired by @CreightonH66, which found from a consultant's compliance check that of the 100 dairy farms they inspected, only 1 was found to be SSAFO compliant...

So this does mean 'getting to grips' with intensive dairy farms along the so-called Carmarthenshire-Pembrokshire slurry belt. But how to go about doing it?

And @NFUCymru legal argument against NVZs across all Wales is strong I think- a 2016 review by @NRW showed evidence that Wales could increase its NVZ share of land from 2.3% to 8% and comply with the nitrates directive and its modelling forecasts.

What about water companies? With the exception of @DwrCymru, water companies at large have told me nitrates and phosphates stripping is extremely expensive. So will the equipment be rolled out to lighten the nutrient load in the next pricing round?

The polluted River Wye highlights the problem at large in England's waterways: agriculture and the water industries are following a regulatory framework that is fragmented. And the regulators just don't have the data to assess the true extent of the problem.

As @TonyJuniper makes clear - the nitrates & phosphates crisis needs joint solutions and effective leadership from both governments, the @EnvAgency, @NaturalEngland & @NatResWales, farmers and the water companies but as @joecrowley rightly concludes... who will lead that charge?

There is a lot to be done but from the interviews @joe_crowley conducted with @NFUCymru, @MerryAlbright, @FriendsUpperWye chair Tom Tibbits and @TonyJuniper - I think all are listening on this contentious issue.

*CORRECTION* @CreightonH66 is a member of the WLMF Agricultural Pollution Subgroup - not the WLMF at large - which heard this evidence. NRW board member Zoe Henderson is chair. Apologies for this inaccuracy.

For those who missed the story it's now on @BBCiPlayer ... about 13mins50 into it you’ll find the piece
bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episod…