The first Environmental Delivery Plan: What you need to know

On 17 September 2026, Natural England opened its consultation on the first draft Environmental Delivery Plan (EDP), published pursuant to the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025. The draft EDP is designed to address nutrient pollution affecting some of Norfolk's most sensitive protected habitats.

The consultation closes on 27 October 2026.

What problem does it address?

The EDP is intended to secure wider ecological benefits while enabling new housing development in nutrient-sensitive catchments, which would otherwise be caught by Habitats Regulations requirements. Rather than requiring each individual planning application to demonstrate nutrient neutrality, the plan proposes a catchment-scale solution that provides developers with a streamlined route to compliance.

How would it work?

Participation is voluntary (there are controversial powers in the legislation to make participation in EDPs mandatory, but those powers have not been used in this case). Eligible developers, limited to dwellinghouse schemes within the defined development area, would pay a Nature Restoration Levy (NRL) of £2,675, plus indexation, per dwelling into the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF). This levy would fund conservation delivery, maintenance, monitoring, and administration. Payment of the levy would discharge the developer's nutrient-related Habitats Regulations obligations, though other environmental duties remain unaffected.

The plan is proposed to run for 10 years, and up to 15,780 homes may use the EDP. It is worth noting the EDP will close for development committing to pay the levy at the end of the sixth year (after the EDP start date).

Conservation measures

Natural England will use levy funding to deliver a strategic programme of conservation measures. Table 1 of the draft EDP summarises the proposed conservation programme, including measures such as deer management projects and land-use change. The conservation measures would be maintained for 100 years and legally secured through conservation covenants, section 106 agreements under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990), or section 7 agreements under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (NERC Act 2006).

The legal test

The central legal test is the Overall Improvement Test (OIT): by the EDP end date, the effect of the conservation measures will need to materially outweigh the negative effect of the EDP development on the conservation status of each identified environmental feature. Natural England has recommended that this EDP passes the OIT.

Katie Proctor, Trainee Solicitor,  examines the new NRF regulations and guidance, including the OIT.

Why does this matter?

As the first draft EDP, the 255-page document provides significant detail on how Natural England expects the new mechanism to operate. If approved, elements of the approach could be replicated in future EDPs addressing other environmental impacts elsewhere in the country. It is therefore vital that interested parties take this opportunity to engage and ensure their views are heard – and there is only a short time in which to do so.