Latest Developments from Natural England – Nutrient Neutrality Updates 

Written by Lauren Gray – Civil Engineer.

Nutrient Neutrality has been a popular and largely controversial topic within the planning process over the last few years since its enforcement in March 2022.   

For some background, nutrient neutrality is a planning requirement in parts of England where protected river catchments are already under environmental stress, putting responsibility onto developers to ensure all development of new overnight accommodation does not increase Phosphorus and Nitrogen contributions into the river systems. (More on this on our Nutrient Neutrality: Issues, Risks and Mitigation Options Insights Article) 

Since its implementation in 2022, many mitigation measures have been developed, from septic tank upgrades, land reversion schemes, to the purchase of nutrient neutrality credits, helping schemes to achieve a nutrient neutral status.  

However, Natural England has recently announced the proposed implementation of Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) across the UK to aid with streamlining Nutrient requirements and mitigation.  

What is an EDP?  

Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) are being developed by Natural England as part of The Nature Restoration Fund (NRF). Where mitigation is currently sourced on a scheme-by-scheme basis, completing available calculators and sourcing mitigation, the NRF is designed to develop catchment-wide mitigation schemes using conservation measures, which developers can pay into as part of levy. The EDPs are the specific plans which will outline from Natural England how these funds will deliver nature restoration at landscape scale, requiring approval by the Secretary of State.  

In a quote from Natural England in March 2026, “EDPs provide an action plan to deliver conservation measures under NRF, with the NRF levy providing the finances for Natural England to deliver them… An EDP can only be approved if it includes conservation measures that outweigh the harm caused by development”. 

What constitutes an NRF Conservation Measure?  

In March 2026, Natural England confirmed “A conservation measure is any action taken to protect, preserve or restore natural resources, ecosystems, or species.” The conservation measures most likely to be utilised by the fund are septic tank upgrades, development of buffer strips and repurposing of land for nature conservation areas.  

Do we have any more details on the Levy, ie associated costs and timings?  

No, at the time of writing Natural England have not disclosed specifics of the EDP. And thus, the following information is outstanding:  

• How will the amount of mitigation required be determined?  

• How much a levy payment will be. 

• Who will be eligible to pay into the fund (ie will there be restrictions on the size of development) 

• When the EDP will be implemented  

• Presumably in Norfolk as we have separate river catchments, we would be looking at EDPs for all areas?  

Will the EDP Levy replace the need for the current mitigation measures?  

No. Natural England has stated that the levy will be an optional way for developers to resolve nutrient mitigation for their schemes, but will not replace existing private mitigation solutions or bespoke solutions. It will be at the discretion of the developer which solution they proceed with.  

So where does that leave us now? 

At the time of writing, there is no clear indication of when to expect the EDPs to be available or how they will operate at a developer level.  

In the meantime, nutrient neutrality can be sourced through the use of private mitigation schemes, purchasing of nutrient neutrality credits (ie NEC, Septic Tank Solutions, Wendling Beck etc) or land reversion / fallowing.  

At Schema, we have a dedicated team of specialists in nutrient neutrality to help you to identify nutrient neutrality constraints for your development and the best way to achieve mitigation, where required. If we can assist with your scheme, please contact us at enquires@schemaengineering.co.uk where one of our team will be able to respond.