Innovative Solution for Herefordshire Planning Dilemma

With planning applications for around 1,500 houses in northern Herefordshire being either put on hold or refused due to phosphates in the River Lugg, Herefordshire Council is developing a strategy to upgrade sewage works on a number of sites to reduce phosphates leaching into the river’s catchment area.
Owen Fry, planning consultant, attended a meeting earlier this month on his client’s land with Herefordshire Council and The Wye and Usk Foundation to discuss how they intend to address the issue.
“The site consists of agricultural land surrounding a small rural sewage works and is one of 10 being considered by the Council for upgrading to reduce the discharge of phosphates into water courses. This will create the additional capacity needed to allow development throughout northern Herefordshire including the houses needed to help the Council meet its quota for new homes,” said Owen, planning consultant at the Hereford office of Berrys.
Small rural sewage works commonly do not benefit from phosphate stripping, the treated foul water that is discharged into watercourses is therefore a major contributor to phosphate pollution in the River Lugg.
“The Council’s plan is to create a system where treated water from sewage works is discharged into a series of integrated wetlands instead of being discharged directly into a watercourse,” he explained.
“The discharge from the sewage works takes eight days to travel through this system which is designed to strip the treated water of phosphates, significantly reducing the amount being discharged into the River Lugg catchment at the end of this process.”
The significant reduction in phosphate pollution from each of these completed sites will add capacity for hundreds of new homes and allow development in a wide range of sectors with the idea being considered of utilising a credit system to manage this.
The integrated wetlands would increase the capacity for each sewage works whilst maintaining a substantial reduction in phosphate pollution. Capacity will be calculated in terms of the number of people that can be added with one person added equating to one credit.
“This will allow developers who want to connect to main sewers to purchase a credit for each person the development would accommodate, enabling development projects to progress within the River Lugg catchment area,” Owen explained.
“It is promising to hear that Herefordshire Council is taking such a proactive approach to conserving our natural environment whilst recognising the importance of growth and I look forward to seeing these projects progress,” he added.
For further details contact Owen Fry at the Herefordshire office of Berrys on 01432 809835 email owen.fry@berrys.uk.com.