River Stour clean-up could see 2,000 homes built

Concern over the level of nutrients in the Stodmarsh Nature Reserve has held back house building nearby

A plan to keep chemicals out of the River Stour could clear the way for 2,000 new homes to be built in Kent.

Ashford Borough Council and Canterbury City Council are planning to establish a joint venture company to satisfy nutrient neutrality rules so developers can build in the area.

Nutrient neutrality aims to ensure nutrient levels in rivers, already high because of sewage effluent and run-off from farmland, do not increase further.

Ashford council's cabinet have already agreed to the scheme, with neighbouring Canterbury council expected to follow suit on 7 October.

'Stalled regeneration'

Already named Stour Environmental Credits Ltd, the new company would help developers make sure their plans would not increase the level of chemicals such as nitrogen and phosphorous in the river.

It would do this through schemes such as retrofitting better water flow systems in council housing stock, improving wastewater treatment, creating buffer strips by wetland habitats and encouraging farmers to plant winter crops on land that would otherwise be left bare.

In 2020 Natural England expressed concern about the effect these chemicals was having on the Stodmarsh Nature Reserve.

The councils hope to use £9.8m from the government's Local Nutrient Mitigation Funding scheme.

The rules on nutrient neutrality date back to the UK's membership of the EU, and a plan by the previous government to relax them in 2023 was defeated in Parliament.

The leader of Canterbury City Council said Stodmarsh "deserves to be protected"

Noel Ovenden, leader of Ashford Borough Council, said: “Our administration is passionate about providing much-needed affordable housing for local people while also caring for the environment.

"So I'm delighted that Ashford and Canterbury have united to deliver a bold and innovative solution to the thorny problem of nutrient neutrality constraints on housebuilding."

Leader of Canterbury City Council Alan Baldock said: “Stodmarsh is an absolute jewel in our district's crown and deserves to be protected.

"But we also need to kickstart the stalled regeneration of the major brownfield sites in Canterbury city centre and elsewhere in the district that have been stalled by the nutrient neutrality problem such as the former Nasons and Debenhams buildings."