Septic tank plan may boost local housing schemes

High phosphorus levels can lead to algal blooms in water bodies

Residents in a national park could have their septic tanks replaced to help jumpstart local housing projects.

Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) said the local planning authorities in Cumbria wanted to fund the replacement of the ageing tanks so that it would lead to less phosphorus pollution into local water bodies.

High levels of the nutrients can lead to a dramatic growth in algae and deplete oxygen levels.

It said the move could help stimulate local housing projects which have stalled due to nutrient mitigation rules.

In a document detailing the plans, LDNPA said modern package treatment plants discharge less phosphorus into water bodies than many of the existing septic tanks in the area.

By funding the replacement of these tanks with package treatment plants, LDNPA said the phosphorus savings could be used to generate "nutrient credits" that could be sold to housing developers in the region.

It said local housing schemes in Cumbria had stalled because developers could not mitigate the nutrient pollution the new homes may cause to four water catchments in the area as part of nutrient mitigation rules brought in 2022.

The credits generated by the replacement package treatment plants could be used for this mitigation, it said.

LDNPA said it had been given government funding to develop the mitigation schemes.

As part of these plans, next week the authority will discuss proposals to remove the need for residents to seek planning permission before they replace a septic tank with a package treatment plant.

"We want to make the process of replacing tanks to be as seamless as possible given the environmental benefits of upgrading," it said.