Natural England have published the first draft Environmental Delivery Plan, which will unlock the payment of a Nature Restoration Levy, a key step towards a functioning Nature Restoration Fund.

Introduction

On 17 September 2026, Natural England published for consultation the first draft Environmental Delivery Plan (“EDP”). Covering Norfolk, it addresses nitrogen and phosphorus pollution affecting the Broads Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Broadland Ramsar site and River Wensum SAC.

It is the first EDP under the Nature Restoration Fund (“NRF”), introduced by Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 (“the Act”), which received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025 and constitutes a significant step towards a regime which will fundamentally alter the approach to “Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA)” mitigation in England.

NRF-funded conservation measures, including river restoration, wetland creation, and the management of fens and reedbeds, would be delivered at landscape scale across the affected catchments.

The draft EDP seeks to unlock up to 15,780 new homes in a region where nutrient neutrality rules have constrained housebuilding. The consultation, which includes questions aimed at assessing likeliness of use based on cost, closes on 27 October 2026.

Origin of nutrient neutrality

The Nature Restoration Levy should be understood in the context of the European Union Court of Justice judgment in Joined Cases C-293/17 and C-294/17 (Coöperatie Mobilisation for the Environment UA) on 7 November 2018 (the “Dutch N” case). As a result of Dutch N, Natural England subsequently issued directions requiring nutrient neutrality in new developments across 27 river catchments. This meant that local planning authorities were not able to approve planning applications for development until they were able to confirm that the development did not increase nutrient burdens within affected catchments.

The rules did not apply nationally, but the resulting impact on the housing industry (where the rules did apply) was substantial, with developers having to redesign their proposals, or otherwise look to other private landowners to offset their nutrient impact. It took time for the private market to adjust to meet the demand of nutrient neutrality credits, which were provided through privately funded ecological projects. Recent reports indicate that between 160,000-185,000 homes have been delayed.

Whilst the private market had started to adjust to this new demand, critics argued that the approach lacked landscape scale strategic planning, and was proving highly costly to developers.

Nature Restoration Levy

In response to concerns that nutrient neutrality rules were contributing to a lack of housing growth, a new regime was proposed in the Act. The Act introduced the concept of EDPs and the NRF as a strategic, plan-led alternative to piecemeal site-specific mitigation.

Under the Act, Natural England could prepare an EDP for a defined area, development type and environmental feature, identifying the conservation measures needed and the charging schedule that will fund them. Natural England would fund the measures identified through the NRF, which is a centralised pot funded by the payment of a Nature Restoration Levy (“NRL”) by developers. The NRL paid will be pooled into ringfenced funds applicable to the EDP that they relate to. Developers can elect to pay the NRL in place of delivering bespoke site-specific mitigation.

The proposed initial flat levy is £2,675 per dwelling before indexation and VAT, calculated by dividing the total cost of the conservation measures by maximum capacity. However, the charging schedule for the EDP can be amended before the end of the EDP period, currently planned for 10 years. This would mean that the value could be adjusted beyond inflation.

The role of the Environmental Delivery Plan

The EDP is the legal and practical gateway to Natural England being able to apply the NRL to development. The NRL can only operate where there is an approved EDP.

Consideration of Habitat Regulations Assessment

The EDP effectively functions as a plan-level HRA, applicable specifically to housing development within the EDP area. Schedule 3 of the Act confirms the circumstances in which the environmental impact of a development on protected features can be disregarded in favour of the benefits introduced by the EDP. It enables local planning authorities to determine planning applications which have an HRA impact where the developer has elected to pay the NRL.

The NRL is not a blanket payment that removes the need to consider any HRA impact. Payment of the NRL would only directly mitigate the impacts that the EDP has been drafted to address. In the case of this draft EDP, the NRL only addresses nutrient impact on the Broads, River Wensum and Broadland protected sites. Therefore, to the extent that any environmental effects are not covered by the EDP, such as impacts on bats, badgers, or newts, those would still need to be considered by the planning regime.

Overall improvement test

A key point to note is that the EDP is not itself subject to an HRA, which would have resulted in an assessment of whether there would have been any adverse effects on site integrity. Instead, arguably a more stringent test is set for the EDP, which provides that the Secretary of State may only make the EDP where they consider that the EDP passes the “Overall Improvement Test”. This test requires that by the EDP end date, the effect of the conservation measures will materially outweigh the negative effect of the EDP development.

Unlocked development

The EDP development is the maximum amount of development that the EDP applies to. In the case of the draft EDP issued on 17 September 2026, it would be 15,780 homes. The EDP quantifies the nutrient load attributable to the maximum 15,780 homes and purports to demonstrate through its evidence base that the proposed conservation measures — river restoration, wetland creation and fen management — will deliver an overall improvement in accordance with the statutory test. These conservation measures then need to be secured, and where appropriate, maintained for 100 years.

Excluded areas

Importantly, the EDP does not apply entirely to the applicable protected sites. There are a number of excluded areas shown in the development area for the EDP. If you are carrying out development within these excluded areas, then the EDP will not apply, developers will not be able to elect to pay the NRL, and the development would have to rely on a separate HRA where needed.

Natural England guidance for developers

Natural England have published guidance on the particular process which developers will need to follow should they wish to pay the NRL rather than seek bespoke arrangements. This process involves obtaining a quote, and then submitting a “request to pay” application to Natural England before applying for planning permission, following which Natural England provide a commitment certificate to be provided with the planning application. The commitment certificate acts to confirm to the LPA that the environmental impact of the development covered by the EDP can be disregarded for the purpose of certain environmental obligations.

The Nature Restoration Levy Regulations then require that a pre-commencement planning condition is applied to the development. The local planning authority must impose this condition. This differs from the BNG regime where the BNG condition is statutory, and does not need to specifically be imposed. Instead, the local planning authority will need to include this condition on the face of the permission. The condition reads:

Development must not begin before either—

(a) liability to pay the levy is discharged, or

(b) if the levy is to be paid by instalments, liability to pay the first instalment is discharged.

Thereafter, guidance sets out the process for assumption of liability notices, and payment of the levy.

Private nutrient credit market

The fact that the EDP is a voluntary regime has meant that the Government has confirmed that private and third-sector providers can continue selling credits to compete with the EDP measures. However, the flat rate introduced by the EDP does represent a new tension in the market, and it will remain to be seen whether private actors continue to engage in the nutrient neutrality regime where market value could be drastically influenced by Natural England’s charging schedules.

Primary systemic risk

The core risk is underfunding. Natural England are able to revise charging schedules, but there is significant onus on Natural England to generate accurate budgets to ensure that the EDP remains deliverable within the funding provided through the NRL. In addition, where there is lower than expected uptake of the NRL under an EDP, there are questions on how Natural England would be able to effectively adjust their strategic aims to account for smaller levels of funding and impact.

There are failsafe controls which introduce reporting requirements midway through an EDP’s lifespan where Natural England would have to flag whether the overall improvement test is going to be met. Where it is not going to be met, the Secretary of State must take remedial action which may include taking conservation measures included in the EDP, directing another public authority to take such measures, including potentially acquiring land compulsorily. What remains unknown through these controls is how these more drastic actions would be funded, in the event that the EDP has failed.

Next steps for developers

We would recommend that developers monitor the progress of this first draft EDP. Smooth process to publication is by no means guaranteed, but once published, the option to participate in the NRL constitutes a major and significant change in how environmental harm can be mitigated in England.

Whilst the EDP would be in place for 10 years, new requests to pay the levy will only be possible within the first 6 years of the EDP. Natural England have said this is necessary to allow time to implement conservation measures to address the negative effect of the EDP developments prior to the EDP end date.

Conclusion

This draft EDP for the Norfolk Broads and River Wensum is the first practical test of the Nature Restoration Fund. It promises a faster, plan-led response to nutrient pollution, but its success will depend on rigorous consultation, capacity discipline and credible conservation delivery. As the forerunner and potential precedent for the 22 further EDPs in the pipeline, it deserves close attention from all stakeholders.

For advice on how EDPs and the Nature Restoration Fund may affect your development, please contact Matthew Tucker, Director, and Douglas Haycock, Associate, in our Planning and Compulsory Purchase Team.