Phosphorus & Development in Agenda

• Introductions • Purpose • Summary of NE guidance • Wessex Water phosphorus reduction plans • Contact from developers • Discussion and next steps

2 Purpose

• Identify a way forward to provide information to Local Planning Authorities and Developers about developer requirements and Wessex Water’s phosphorus reduction obligations

• Provision of a single source of information rather than responding to individual enquiries and understanding how this information will be used by the LPA

• Understand how to engage and disseminate information to relevant parties, e.g. other LPAs

3 Summary of NE guidance

Dutch Nitrogen Case: • This judgement clarified that where a site is failing to achieve condition due to pollution, the potential for new development to add to the nutrient load is “necessarily limited”.

NE Advice: • Ramsar sites are treated as ‘European Sites’ under the NPPF, Paragraph 176, it is Natural ’s view that development proposals which add phosphates into the catchment are likely to have a significant effect on the and Moors Ramsar Site • Development proposals likely to add phosphates through increasing waste water include additional residential units, those that facilitate intensification of agriculture, and proposals for anaerobic digesters. • Proposed development likely to affect European Sites should be subject to Habitats Regulations Assessment and in most cases this is likely to mean undertaking to an Appropriate Assessment to assess the implications of the proposal in view of the conservation objectives of the site.

4 Wessex Water Phosphorus Reduction

• Wessex Water’s Final Business Plan submitted - August 2019

• Ofwat’s Final Determination (acceptance of plan) - December 2019

• WW Board acceptance of Final Determination – January 2020

• NE’s changed position – June 2020

• WW Business Plan includes phosphorus reduction schemes to achieve Water Framework Directive and Habitats Directive requirements based on our fair share contribution to current status

5 What we are doing

• Removing 303.8tpa phosphorus by 2027 • Combined approach: • New infrastructure • Asset optimisation • Catchment offsetting

• Delivery of WFD fairshare targets across region by 2027

• C£150m investment by 2025

6 Asset Improvement

Chemical dosing plant for 1 mg/l P permit

Plant required for permit less than 1 mg/l – chemical dosing plant, tertiary sand filters and sludge tanks

7 Phosphorus removal to date

8 Plans for Parrett

148.6tpa by Dec 2024 153.2tpa by Dec 2027

AND

Somerset Levels & Moors wetland to provide P removal and habitat creation by 2025

Total cost c.£72m

9 Plans for Brue & Axe

P Permit STW (mg/l) Current PR19 Cheddar 2 0.7

Evercreech 1.8 1 Glastonbury 2 0.8

Shepton Mallet 2 1 2 0.35

Wells 2 1 Winscombe - 0.5

Total cost c.£17m

10 Plans for

P Permit STW (mg/l) Current PR19 - 0.5 - 0.5 Ubley IUDM Ubley SSO Wrington - 1

Total cost c.£12m

11 Developer contacts- discussion

• ~40 developer contacts to date

• Prefer a central point of information or guidance

• Options to discuss: • WW Position statement • Joint LPA/WW position statement • Interactive platform- DWMP • Signposting- DWMP • Other ideas?

https://www.wessexwater.co.uk/environment/drainage-and-wastewater-management-plan

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