Norfolk wetland project to prevent river pollution approved

The area in Guist, between Dereham and Fakenham, where a wetland will be created

A new wetland to stop harmful housing pollution reaching a river has been approved by councillors.

About 17 hectares (42 acres) of countryside will be turned into a wildlife haven near Guist in Norfolk.

The proposal from Persimmon Homes, which has plans to build hundreds of properties locally, was backed by Breckland Council.

The developer said the site would store the same amount of phosphate levels produced by 600 homes.

EU-era laws on the building of housing required developers and councils to ensure projects did not send excess pollution into waterways and were "nutrient neutral".

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Persimmon Homes said the wetland would improve water quality downstream of the River Wensum and allow it to deliver new home schemes in the river catchment area.

The project will see three ponds created, through which the flow of water from the Foulsham tributary gets diverted via a dam or small weir.

The wetland will be built on land to the south of the Norwich/Fakenham road (A1067)

However, in a planning agenda document, Natural England raised some concerns.

It said while it "recognised wetlands as a suitable measure to offset nutrient loading within a catchment", it wanted to ensure any impact to endangered water voles would include the obtaining of a protected species mitigation licence.

The plans were backed unanimously by councillors. Chairman of Breckland Council's planning committee, Nigel Wilkin, called the wetland creation a "good news story" for a change.

"We are not just covering the district in concrete - we also welcome this type of scheme coming forward," he said.

Persimmon Homes told the meeting: "We hope the wetland will be a valuable infrastructure asset, both for this district and Norfolk itself."

A spokesman said it would be applying for the mitigation licence before construction work begins at the end of February.

Michelle Baker, managing director of Persimmon Homes Anglia, added: "We're very proud of the new wetland that we are going to create in Guist, which will unlock much needed new homes in the area and improve water quality.

"As a business, we take our environmental responsibilities extremely seriously, and I am delighted that we have brought forward a high-quality, nature-based solution that offers so many environmental benefits."

The project is expected to be completed by the summer, when the firm will also announce who will take on the management of the wetland.