Nitrogen Reduction in Poole Harbour

Revocation of the Nitrogen Reduction in Poole Harbour Supplementary Planning Document

On 10 September 2024 Dorset Council’s Cabinet took the decision to revoke the Nitrogen Reduction in Poole Harbour Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) in accordance with the officer recommendation which states: 

Since Natural England updated their advice on nutrient neutrality in March 2022, the Nitrogen Reduction in Poole Harbour SPD is no longer considered to offer a robust mechanism for delivering nitrogen mitigation in the Poole Harbour catchment. The SPD therefore needs to be formally withdrawn to enable an alternative approach to delivering nitrogen mitigation within the Poole Harbour catchment.

The approach to calculating nutrient loading and mitigation requirements in the earlier SPD is no longer consistent with the latest evidence and understanding of the impacts of nutrient pollution on habitat sites. For all planning applications determined after the 31 July 2024, and following revocation of the Nitrogen Reduction in Poole Harbour SPD, all applicants or developers for qualifying development in Poole Harbour’s catchment must secure nutrient mitigation for their development proposal.

Mitigation can be secured:

• on-site, or through other land owned by the applicant or developer (as an example mitigation may include changes in land management to offset impacts or a new wastewater treatment works managed by a NAV water company)
• through an agreement with an accredited third-party mitigation provider
• through an agreement with Dorset and BCP Council acting in their capacity as a nutrient mitigation provider

In all instances, the mitigation will need to be secured in perpetuity through the necessary legal agreements or planning condition and details of the mitigation measures must be presented by the applicant or developer as part of their nutrient neutrality statement. More information on calculating nutrient budgets for qualifying development and mitigation measures is available on our Nutrient Neutrality page.

Monitoring of delivery of mitigation for qualifying development given planning permission between 1 April 2017 and up to 31 July 2024

The strategy for mitigating nitrogen pollution that is presented in the Nitrogen Reduction in Poole Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) will continue to be used to deliver mitigation for the qualifying development given planning permission from 1 April 2017 up to the end of July 2024.

We will present monitoring reports on this web page which track delivery of the legacy qualifying development given planning permission and mitigation measures. The relevant monitoring reports will be published below as they are finalised:

• Monitoring report relating to the years 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20 & 2020/21
• Monitoring report relating to the years 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23 & 2023/24

When all legacy qualifying development and mitigation measures have been delivered, we will delete this web page and permanently archive all documents relating to the revoked Nitrogen Reduction in Poole Harbour SPD.

For the present time: consultation report (Nitrogen Reduction in Poole Harbour SPD), consultation statement (Nitrogen Reduction in Poole Harbour SPD) and Purbeck adoption statement nitrogen SPD can be still be accessed through this web page, but will also be archived in due course.