Somerset could get more wetlands to unlock housing

Around 12,000 homes across the county have been held up by the phosphates crisis, with developers having to secure additional mitigation to prevent any net increase in phosphates on the Somerset Levels and Moors.

Somerset Council was awarded £9.6m from central government shortly before Christmas 2023, to be spent on a number of solutions to ease the crisis and deliver much-needed new housing.

The council laid out its original plans for how this funding would be utilised in March, providing details of six projects which would be prioritised.

But the council has now changed its mind following feedback from landowners and other relevant stakeholders – and to ensure all the funding can be spent before the end of the current financial year.

The council originally allocated the £9.6m grant in the following ways:

1. Salinity Solutions pilot, using modular units which can filter out additional water-borne phosphates before they reach the Levels (£2m)
2. Land- or nature-based solutions, with land within the Levels and Moors catchment area being identified for new wetlands or other natural mitigation which could boost biodiversity (£3.5m)
3. Retrofitting social housing, replacing older septic tanks with package treatment plants (£1m)
4. Nature-based solutions on council-owned land, such as wetlands or local nature reserves (£2m)
5. Miscanthus grass pilot, working with Taunton-based Miscanthus Nursery to grow miscanthus grass (a.k.a. elephant grass) which can absorb large quantities of phosphates from the soil (£640,000)
6. Research and development into emerging technologies which could be scaled up in the near-future (£480,000)

The council held a ‘call for sites’ for land- or nature-based solutions between May 20 and July 15, which led to 70 different sites across Somerset being put forward for either phosphate mitigation, biodiversity net gain or a mixture of both.

Of these sites, 12 have already been assessed, 13 are currently being assessed, 14 will be assessed within the coming weeks and 31 were screened out as unsuitable.

The 25 sites which have been wholly or partially assessed could deliver more than 500 phosphate credits, unlocking hundreds if not thousands of new homes – but implementing every site would cost £20.5m, far in excess of the £3.5m originally allocated.

To deal with this additional demand, the council has decided to revise how the government grant will be used, with £5.6m being allocated to deliver any many of these sites as humanly possible.

Of the remainder, £3.5m will be dedicated to a number of different project to create “bridging credits” – in other words, providing phosphate mitigation up to 2030 without having to fallow additional agricultural land.

These efforts will include the Salinity Solutions trial, the miscanthus grass trial and “other potential opportunities” to increase supply through new technologies or working with third parties.

The final £1m will be allocated towards upgrading sewage treatment plants near rural council houses in the former Taunton Deane area – a decision confirmed by the executive committee in early-October.

Councillor Sarah Wakefield, portfolio holder for adult services, housing and homelessness, questioned whether growing miscanthus grass would prove a cost-effective use of government funding.

Ms Wakefield represents the Blackdown and Neroche division, which includes numerous development sites on the edge of Wellington – including the Westpark 26 employment site and the Jurston Fields development, which is currently the subject of a lengthy court challenge over phosphate mitigation.

She said: “Miscanthus was a big thing when I was still working in the legal profession – we had a number of clients who were planting away.

“Are people planting more of the stuff? I know it’s a fuel but it didn’t work very well the first tie around.”

Kate Murdoch, the council’s service manager for strategic policy and implementation, replied: “We are using this as a temporary bridging credit as an alternative to fallowing land.

“If landowners plant miscanthus, they can still generate income without grazing animals there or using fertilisers.

“This will bring down the cost of bridging credits. Miscanthus Nursery near Taunton is developing alternative products, such as recyclable packaging or insulation blocks.”

The funding for each of the council’s selected projects has to be allocated by March 31, 2025 – otherwise part or all of it will have to be returned to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

Councillor Diogo Rodrigues said he was worried these projects had been allocated in undue haste due to this impending deadline.

He said: “My one concern I have is that you commit spending in urgency without perhaps committing to the best things.”

Mr Rodrigues’ Bridgwater East and Bawdip is expected to deliver significant housing in the coming years, including three major housing estates near the M5 (of which one, Strawberry Grange, is currently under construction).

However, because these sites lie downstream of the Levels and Moors, they do not require additional phosphate mitigation – meaning they could be delivered relatively quickly compared to other developments in the county.

A further discussion of the phosphates crisis is expected to take place at a meeting of the council’s climate and place scrutiny committee in Taunton on Monday (November 11), with a more detailed update coming before its strategic planning committee in mid-March 2025.