Phosphates summit had “intensely practically focused discussion”

Welsh Government are looking at ways to ‘release’ land currently restricted for development due to the ongoing phosphates issue.

Two years ago Natural Resources Wales (NRW) published new targets to reduce river phosphate levels in special areas of conservation (SAC) across Wales. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​ ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

It followed concerns about an increase in phosphate concentrations – which can cause water pollution in rivers. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​While Natural Resources Wales, the Welsh Government and local authorities have been working together to try and find a solution to the issue, progress on developments locally and nationally has slowed, and in some cases stalled. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​ ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Planning applications locally have had to be rejected on phosphate reasons alone while other applications are being held up in the system, and Wrexham Council’s leadership say builders and developers are starting to become wary of submitting applications altogether. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

North Wales MS Sam Rowlands quizzed the First Minister on the topic, “You’ll be aware that, across Wales, around 13,000 people are currently in temporary accommodation, whether that be bed and breakfasts or hotels, at great cost to them personally and also to the public purse, as well, of course. At the same time, in North Wales, around 1,000 social homes are not able to be built because of Welsh Government policy and a lack of clarity among house builders on how to handle that policy. I know there was a summit earlier this this year, seeking to progress issues to resolve that problem. I wonder if you can give an update here today as to how that’s going, and how people in north Wales will be able to see those houses being built that we so desperately need.”

The First Minister replied, “I thank Sam Rowlands for drawing attention to the pressures that are there in temporary accommodation in Wales. They’re there, as the Member will know, because of our policy of making sure that nobody is left homeless here in Wales. A series of actions are being taken by the Welsh Government to increase the supply of housing to meet that demand, whether that is bringing empty homes back into use, whether it is the support we continue to provide for Help to Buy here in Wales, whether it is the work that we support through the North Wales Economic Ambition Board that will, for example, result in over 300 new homes being built on the former Denbigh hospital site.

“The issue of phosphates and the need to make sure that, when land is developed, it is not done in a way that adds to the very significant pressures we know are there to be found in rivers in Wales is a difficult problem to solve, because we want to see those homes built, but we cannot possibly agree that they are built in a way that deliberately and knowingly adds to another difficulty. That is why the summit was so important in bringing all those interests round the table who have a contribution to make to solving that problem. And there was a real focus in the last summit on finding ways in which land can be released for those very important housing purposes in a way that does not lead to further degradation of the condition of rivers in Wales; new ideas from Dŵr Cymru as to how they might be able to assist; and new ideas from the planning officers that we had there as to how land could be released for those purposes.

“So, I want to give the Member an assurance that that was an intensely practically focused discussion, looking for ways in which we can release that land, because those houses are needed in North Wales as elsewhere, but not being prepared to solve one problem at the expense of another public policy problem, which, as we know, has obtained a real purchase on the minds of the public, concerned as they are at the state of the natural environment.”