Making a Splash: The First Draft Environmental Delivery Plan Divides Opinion

The Existing Regulatory Approach

When new housing is built, sewage and wastewater increase the levels of nutrients—specifically phosphates and nitrates—entering local water systems. High nutrient levels cause rapid algae growth, which chokes aquatic life and degrades fragile river ecosystems. Under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, a new residential development that is likely to have a significant effect on a European designated nature site cannot currently receive permission unless it undergoes an "appropriate assessment" of its impacts. Permission can only be granted where the planning authority is satisfied that the development will not adversely affect the integrity of the European site, through adequate avoidance, mitigation, or compensation. One solution to this issue is for developments to achieve "nutrient neutrality." This is typically achieved by securing a reduction in existing nutrient pollution elsewhere within the catchment, neutralizing the nutrient load generated by the new development. The reduction is quantified as nutrient credits, representing units of nitrogen, phosphorus, or both. Developers can purchase these credits and use them to demonstrate that the overall nutrient burden on the European site will not increase.

The New Regime

An EDP is a statutory plan, developed by Natural England and made by the Secretary of State. EDPs are a new way of addressing certain environmental impacts of development at a strategic scale. The government aims to "[move] beyond fragmented, site-by-site mitigation, providing a more coordinated and streamlined way of securing environmental outcomes, while enabling homes, infrastructure and economic growth the country needs. The aim is not simply to offset development impacts. The effect of the conservation measures must materially outweigh the impacts of development from nutrient pollution on the conservation status of the protected habitats and species by the EDP end date".

Under the NRF, Natural England will submit draft EDPs to the Secretary of State. If the Secretary of State then decides to make the EDP, this will allow developers to discharge their relevant responsibilities by paying a levy.

Where an EDP is in place, developers who use it will not be required to offset their impact on the relevant environmental feature of a protected site or a protected species on a development-by-development basis, as required in current legislation. These obligations will be fulfilled by Natural England on a strategic level funded by the levy.

An EDP may be voluntary, in which case developers may continue to rely on the existing regime if they wish (though we doubt they would), or mandatory, in which case developers will be required to use the Nature Restoration Levy.

It should be noted that any environmental impacts which fall outside the scope of an EDP would still need to be addressed through the existing regime (i.e., they may need an appropriate assessment). The draft Norfolk EDP, for instance, only addresses nutrient pollution.

Key Proposals of the Draft Norfolk EDP

The draft Norfolk EDP aims to unlock stalled construction while funding large-scale environmental projects. The core pillars of the plan include:

Housing Delivery. The EDP aims to unlock the construction of up to 15,780 new homes across central and eastern Norfolk.

Targeted Habitats. Focusing protection on highly sensitive wetland areas.

The NRF. Developers will pay a standard levy charge of £2,675 per new dwelling (before indexation).

The Debate: two conflicting Visions for Conservation

Natural England and its supporters argue that the draft EDP represents a modern, more effective evolution in environmental policy:

Holistic impact. Pooling developer funds allows the state to deliver large, coordinated conservation projects at a "landscape scale" (such as expansive fen restoration or strategic river basin upgrades). They argue this achieves far more for wildlife than fragmented, piecemeal efforts by individual builders.

The "Overall Improvement" Test. Natural England emphasizes that the plan is legally bound to meet an "Overall Improvement Test". The funded conservation projects must be designed to materially outweigh the pollution from the new housing over the 10 year period of the EDP.

Certainty for Economic Growth. The standardized fee provides certainty, giving builders immediate financial clarity and ensuring development can proceed alongside funded nature recovery.

However, environmental campaigners have raised opposition to the draft plan, arguing that it is regressive and effectively amounts to a "pay-to-pollute" approach. Their main criticisms include:

Delayed mitigation. Critics point out that the plan allows nutrient pollution from new homes to impact fragile environments immediately, while the funded mitigation measures may take decades to mature or show results.

Disconnected Offsets. The NRF may be spent on generic conservation efforts—such as deer management—that campaigners say have a weak or unproven link to actually reducing nutrient levels in the affected waterways.

Underfunding and "Greenwashing." Critics argue the £2,675 levy is too low to realistically reverse the ecological damage, and permits rapid construction over rigorous scientific accountability.

Conclusion and Next Steps

The criticisms of this first draft EDP are largely criticisms that were aimed at the NRF and EDP concepts more generally during the passage of the Planning and Infrastructure Act through parliament. The consultation on the draft Norfolk EDP closes on October 27, 2026 and it is likely that the government will make the final EDP, perhaps with some changes to points of detail as a result of the consultation exercise, and that the wider system of EDPs will be rolled out across the country. On September 10, 2026 the government published the Nature Restoration Levy Regulations 2026, which set out the detailed process for the use and administration of the levy. The liability and enforcement regimes for the levy will be familiar to developers who have dealt with the community infrastructure levy. The government has also published helpful guidance on using the levy, including the step by step process to be followed by developers and local planning authorities.