‘Cash to trash’ levy on house developers too low to offset damage to Norfolk Broads, say critics
Exclusive: Levy that allows almost 16,000 houses to be built on Norfolk Broads will not cover cost of mitigating environmental damage, critics say A new levy on developers to allow almost 16,000 homes to be built in the environmentally protected Norfolk Broads has been cut by tens of thousands of pounds per house, the Guardian can reveal. Ministers say the government’s environmental delivery…
Critics argue that the new levy on developers allowing the construction of almost 16,000 houses in the Norfolk Broads does not cover the costs of mitigating environmental damage. The developers will pay £2,675 per house, totaling £42 million, into the nature restoration fund. However, ecologists say the levy should be much higher to properly reflect the costs of compensatory actions such as fenland creation, agricultural land conversion, catch-dyke restoration and deer management.
The Broads, a biodiversity hotspot home to rare wildlife, will see an extra 7,695 kg of nitrogen and up to 435 kg of phosphorus annually due to the development. Critics claim the levy encourages developers to pay to pollute rather than solve the problem.
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