Government opens consultation on the first Environmental Delivery Plan

The Norfolk Nutrient Pollution Environmental Delivery Plan was published for public consultation on 17 September 2026. This is of interest to CLA as it is the first of a number of expected public consultations on EDPs around England. The CLA raised concerns at the legislative stage around impacts on existing nature markets, costs of administration, and risks of compulsory purchase. So, it is of great interest to respond to this consultation on behalf of members who will be undertaking development on their land, and for those considering delivering the mitigation such as creating nutrient credits.

This article provides some information on the new legislation and why we are looking at the consultation in detail.

In December 2025, the Planning and Infrastructure Act introduced Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) and a Nature Restoration Fund (NRF). The aim is to streamline the development process in England where development will have an impact on protected sites (such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest or Special Areas of Conservation) or protected species (e.g. great crested newts). Note that developers will still need to meet other environmental duties such as Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG).

An EDP will set out which developments it covers, which protected sites and species could be affected, and what conservation work Natural England will deliver in response. An EDP must also pass an “overall improvement” test, meaning the conservation measures should more than outweigh the environmental impacts of the development. It will also explain how much developers will need to pay through the Nature Restoration Levy and when those payments apply.

Once established, EDPs will allow developers in affected areas to pay a levy into the Nature Restoration Fund instead of carrying out site-specific mitigation for certain impacts on protected sites and species.  In most cases this will be optional for the developers, although the Act gives Natural England scope to make EDPs and payment into the NRF mandatory.

Natural England will administer the fund and prepare the EDPs, setting out strategic conservation measures to address development impacts.

Before an EDP is finalised, there will be at least 28 days of consultation. Natural England will then submit the plan to the Secretary of State for approval. If approved, it must be published within 28 days.

The Draft Norfolk Nutrient Pollution Environmental Deliver Plan is the first EDP for consultation. The consultation is open for 6 weeks with a closing date of 09:29am on 27 October 2026. This frontrunner focuses on nutrient mitigation for the delivery of up to 15,780 new homes in central and eastern Norfolk. The area includes the River Wensum, Bure Broads and Marshes, and Yare Broads and Marches catchments.

The conservation measures in the proposed EDP include the creation and management of several wetland habitats, the conversion of intensively managed agricultural land to semi-natural habitat, the removal or alteration of river modifications and artificial drainage and the management of specific deer populations.

The EDP also contains a planning condition that development cannot be connected to mains sewers. A levy of £2,675 per dwelling is proposed to fund the delivery of the mitigation. It will be secured via the planning process and paid into the Nature Restoration Fund either in full or instalments is proposed.

The CLA is developing a full consultation response; however, there are some key issues that we will be looking at:

• How the creation EDP and the new process of levies will impact on the existing Nutrient Neutrality markets.
• How the EDP proposals will affect smaller developments typical of CLA members
• Whether the levy per dwellinghouse will be an attractive proposition for private landowners and managers to enter into agreements.

If you would like to contribute to the CLA consultation response please email advice@cla.org.uk with ‘Norfolk EDP consultation’ in the subject, or contact the CLA East adviser Peter.Ewin@cla.org.uk.