Council bosses believe they have finally found a solution to a long-running environmental issue preventing thousands of new homes from being built in east Kent.

Concern over the pollution of Stodmarsh nature reserve, near Canterbury, has seen some major projects stalled - such as the redevelopment of the city’s former Debenhams and Nason stores.

Now Ashford Borough Council and Canterbury City Council are forming a joint company tasked with providing mitigation measures, including “controversial schemes” such as turning agricultural land into solar farms.

The local authorities are bidding for £7.5 million from the government to fund the work of the new firm, which could be up and running early next year.

It is hoped the proposed mitigation measures - which also include creating new wetlands - will offset any environmental damage caused by the building of new homes.

Why has Stodmarsh been causing councils such a headache?

A solution to the Stodmarsh issue has been sought ever since 2020 when Natural England imposed blanket opposition to developments within a large “catchment area” due to the pollution of the nature reserve.

Harmful nitrate and phosphate nutrients caused by wastewater and slurry run-off from farmland have been getting into the ecosystem.

Rules created by Natural England say any new developments must be “nutrient neutral” and not add to the pollution.

As a result of this, across swathes of east Kent, many developments have been unable to go ahead - with Ashford and Canterbury councils affected most significantly.

At a meeting of Ashford Borough Council’s (ABC) cabinet on September 26, the Independent-Green coalition administration approved plans to create the joint company.

ABC leader Cllr Noel Ovenden (Ash Ind) told the cabinet that the firm is planned to be up and running by “the first quarter of next year.”

In a statement after the meeting, he added: “Our administration is passionate about providing much-needed affordable housing for local people while also caring for the environment.

“I'm delighted that Ashford and Canterbury have united to deliver a bold and innovative solution to the thorny problem of nutrient neutrality constraints on housebuilding.

“This initiative is good for the environment, for responsible and controlled housing development, and for our local communities.”

How will the joint company work?

Set to be called Stour Environmental Credits Ltd (SEC), the company will trade in “nutrient credits”.

Developers will purchase the credits from SEC, and the company will then use the proceeds to help fund projects to mitigate the pollution caused by building new homes.

The measures also include water companies improving works to water treatment facilities, upgrades to septic tanks and new connections to treatment works.

SEC will then issue certificates to developers to confirm that they have bought credits and contributed to mitigation, which would be submitted with planning applications to allow them to proceed.

Which mitigation measures are causing concern?

One of the possible mitigations is the “conversion of agricultural land to solar farms” - which would reduce agricultural runoff and, therefore, pollution.

At the Ashford cabinet meeting, despite backing the plan overall, Tory group leader Cllr Neil Bell raised concerns about this.

“I’d like to see some safeguards that this won't be promoting those less popular, more controversial schemes,” he said.

“We don’t want to have a company here which is basically encouraging lots of people to take land out of agricultural use when folk around here might think that’s a jolly good thing and quite like all the secondary employment and stuff that goes with having agriculture.”

Cllr Ovenden said the administration is “very keen on protecting the environment”.

A spokesman for the Kent branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England says finding a practical solution to the Stormarsh issue is urgent.

“This urgency stems from the fact that speculative housing developments on greenfield sites are being approved ahead of more sustainable brownfield sites,” they said.

“These brownfield sites, although designated for development, are currently stalled due to the Stodmarsh issue.

“We therefore broadly welcome the proposed joint venture as a practical step forward.

“However, it's clear that we are still addressing environmental problems through mitigation rather than preventing them in the first place.

“As such, we will be closely monitoring the development of the plan.

“In particular, we require much more detail on the proposed floodplain meadows and the two strategic wetlands.”

Floodplain meadows and two new wetlands are proposed to be among the first measures taken, but the exact locations for these are not yet confirmed.

Which projects could now get started?

Across the Stodmarsh “catchment area”, developments of 300 homes or more have been allowed to go ahead, as they are large enough for wastewater to be processed on-site.

But smaller developments have been held in limbo, unable to proceed as their plumbing systems would create more nutrient runoff into the water supply - but they cannot all build small sewage plants to mitigate the impact.

About 5,000 homes in total have been given permission but have not been built as a result of the nutrient neutrality rules.

Council documents show that the new company alone could release 2,000 of these so they can get built.

One of the projects held up by the rules is the redevelopment of the former Debenhams on Canterbury’s high street.

Since the department store chain went into administration in 2020, the iconic building has sat empty.

Set to be rebranded Guildhall Quarter, the scheme is worth £25 million and would see it transformed into 12 new retail units with 74 flats above.

The disused Nasons store opposite has laid empty since 2018, and is slated for a £30 million conversion into a retail arcade and 66 flats.

However, the nutrient neutrality rules have held up this bid as well, and the site went up for sale for £6 million in July this year.

Canterbury council leader Cllr Alan Baldock said: “Stodmarsh is an absolute jewel in our district’s crown and deserves to be protected.

“We also need to kickstart the regeneration of the major brownfield sites in Canterbury city centre and elsewhere in the district that have been stalled by the nutrient neutrality problem such as the former Nasons and Debenhams buildings.

“We urgently need to deliver the homes that people so desperately need, especially those that are affordable, and reap the benefits from the boost to the economy and job creation housebuilding brings.”

What happens next?

Both councils are currently working on their local plans, which govern the scale and location of housebuilding over the course of years to come.

Across both jurisdictions’ local plans, 24,000 homes are likely to be affected by the pollution rules.

Canterbury City Council’s cabinet is set to approve the project at its cabinet meeting on October 7.

ABC’s cabinet voted to bid for £450,000 from the government to establish the business, and when running the firm will bid for a further £7.05 million.