Greenpeace Ruling Exposes UK Government Policy
March 3, 2025
In January 2025, Greenpeace brought a collective action against the Dutch state for failing to comply with a 2018 European Court of Justice ruling on nutrient neutrality. An appeal is expected: however, as the UK Government has adopted the same ‘tax builders for pollution others cause’ approach to reducing nutrient pollution, it may find itself needing to reassess its strategy if it is to escape legal action.
Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said:
“Labour inherited a disastrous ‘blame builders’ policy by the last government, which flirted with reversing their approach, but prioritised their party over growth and fairness by choosing to tax developers to mitigate pollution cause by agriculture and water waste companies. The Netherlands has exposed this approach as flawed, something industry has been warning Government about since 2019, because pollution in protected habitats has not improved.”
The UK Government chose to replicate the Netherland’s model of taxing the development industry by forcing them to purchase local mitigation credits to offset the impact of new developments. Unfortunately, in many areas, these credits remain unavailable and even when this meant housebuilding was banned, water quality often worsened.
Rico Wojtulewicz, Head of Policy and Market Insight, added:
“New housing accounts for less than 1% of nutrient pollution, and that pollution comes from occupants, who already pay water companies to clean up their waste. The only solution is to help farmers pollute less, since they contribute up to 75% of it, and ensure water companies are held accountable by requiring them to deliver infrastructure, such as treatment works, and using emergency planning powers to support these projects.
Blaming builders has only worsened the quality of watercourses. For example, despite no new housing being built near the River Lugg, pollution levels have still increased. Water companies continue to escape accountability by using a developer tax to deliver solutions such as wetlands, while existing waterways continue to be polluted. Meanwhile, the credit mitigation system has seen SME builders hit the hardest, projects ended due to a lack of credit availability, and UK food security reduced through loss of farmland in order to create mitigation credits.
This perverse six-year experiment must end, not just for the sake of growth, but for the health of the UK’s environment.”
You May Also Enjoy
Forget kerb appeal: LRG report reveals what really triggers a homebuyer’s offer
One of the UK’s largest property services groups has published its debut sales report, uncovering what genuinely persuades buyers to make an offer – and the findings challenge the traditional focus on kerb appeal. While sellers often guess which improvements will pay off, the data shows where money is well spent and where it’s wasted.…
Read More 
Prime London’s love affair with period homes continues
One in four listings are historic properties The latest research from Jefferies London shows that nearly a quarter of homes listed for sale across prime central London (23.3%) offer high-end homebuyers the chance to secure a period property, with demand for prime period properties at its highest in Maida Vale. Jefferies London analysed current for…
Read More 
Industry Response to latest Nationwide House Price Index
Nationwide House Price Index for October 2025, with the latest figures showing no Halloween haunting for homebuyers where house price growth is concerned – despite widespread talks of Autumn Budget uncertainty hitting the market. The latest index shows that: – House prices increased by 0.3% between September and October of this year. On an annual…
Read More 
The capital’s most haunted property hotspots for Halloween homebuyers
The latest analysis by Foxtons has revealed which of the capital’s spookiest postcodes command the largest house price premiums, as the average cost of purchasing a property in one of London’s most haunted neighbourhoods comes in 48% more than the wider London average. Foxtons analysed the property market across 14 of London’s most haunted locations,…
Read More 
Annual house price growth edges higher in October
Slight increase in annual house price growth to 2.4% House prices were up 0.3% month on month Kitchen and bathroom renovations most popular amongst homeowners in last five years Analysis based on Nationwide’s HPI data shows extensions or loft conversions with a bedroom can increase house value by up to 24% Headlines Oct-25 Sep-25 Monthly…
Read More 
How much will a Halloween Castle set you back
The latest research from Enness Global has revealed that, for those looking to follow in the footsteps of Count Dracula this Halloween, the average castle on the UK market will set buyers back around £2.2 million, requiring a deposit of £332,609 and a monthly mortgage repayment of more than £10,000. Enness Global analysed current castle…
Read More