Nutrient management - guidance for developers

Latest update 22 May 2023

The council has paved the way with the development of the nutrient budget calculator and is now progressing a pioneering natural solution to nutrient management. Integrated wetlands will address point source pollution and provide mitigation through the trading of phosphate credits, which will unlock housing development in the north of the county and provide river betterment.

This page provides an update on where your application is placed in the waiting list for credits, guidance on updating your planning application and on using the nutrient budget calculator to calculate the nutrient budget of the proposal.

River Lugg catchment - Phosphate credits

On 28 July 2022 Cabinet confirmed Nutrient Certainty and authorised the Corporate Director of Economy and Environment to commence the trading of credits based on the Phosphate Credit Pricing and Allocation Policy agreed by Cabinet earlier in the year.

Credits are now available for purchase. If you are on the identified list as eligible, please review the published guidance and prepare updated documents as appropriate.

Officers will be in contact with each individual applicant as credits are released for their purchase.

Important information about allocation of phosphate credits

Phosphate credits will be allocated in validation date order.

• To see where you are in the queue, view the Excel workbook Applications validation date order queue
• View Herefordshire Council's Phosphate credit bank list

All applications will require review and an information update.

• For guidance on the information we require view River Lugg catchment update June 2022 Advice for agents and applicants - applications review
• Complete the applications review checklist and send with your required documents
• For non-mains foul drainage, see:
  • Package treatment plants and small scale impacts in the Lugg catchment - interim guidance

Allocation of credits will be managed by the planning team. Planning case officers will work through the applications on the waiting list in date order. When an application is ready to be determined, the case officer will invite you to apply for credits.

• For more about the credit allocation process view Phosphate credits: allocation process information for developers
• A Phosphate S106 agreement will need to be signed when purchasing credits

Advice on using Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) to reduce phosphorus in surface water

• Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) can form a key part of appropriately addressing phosphate in surface water within development sites. CIRIA have released a piece of good practice guidance titled ‘Using SuDS to reduce phosphorus in surface water runoff’ (2022), which sets out how various SuDS treatment options may be able to be used to address urban runoff of phosphate and how these treatment options may function together.

Download Advice note on Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) to reduce phosphorus in surface water from Ciria

Relation to the credits scheme

• The SuDS guidance has not yet been translated into evidenced based data to allow reductions in surface water phosphate budgets to be made during budget calculations. However, as more data becomes available it may potentially reduce the number of credits you may require, as it has an effect on the phosphate runoff coefficient.
• If developers wish to discuss the potential use of SuDS to mitigate surface water phosphate then they should make a request through the council’s pre-application advice service.

Phosphate credits FAQs

Queries about the credit allocation process - Email us with your query at phosphates@herefordshire.gov.uk.

We can't reply individually but will post regular updates to questions asked on the Phosphate credits FAQs.