Water neutrality
For several years, planning in parts of Horsham, Crawley and the surrounding districts has been constrained by Natural England’s requirement that new developments demonstrate “water neutrality”, in other words, ensuring no net increase in water use across the area.
While well-intentioned, these rules effectively stalled housing delivery and commercial schemes, creating significant uncertainty for developers and local authorities.
Unlocking housing growth
This Last week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed that the restrictions will be lifted, paving the way for thousands of new homes and long-delayed projects to progress. The decision reflects a broader shift in the Government’s approach to unlocking housing growth and simplifying environmental regulation where it has acted as a brake on delivery.
For the property sector, this change is largely welcome news. Developers with sites previously held up by neutrality assessments can now look again at viability and programme timelines, while local planning authorities will be reviewing how to bring forward paused applications.
However, the underlying infrastructure and environmental challenges remain - particularly around water supply resilience and sustainable resource management.
In practice, careful legal and planning due diligence will still be essential.
Developers will need to understand how the new policy is being interpreted locally, how water infrastructure investment aligns with their sites, and what transitional requirements may still apply.
As the policy environment evolves, clarity and proactive engagement with planning authorities will be key. Certainly, here at Downs, our expert property teams are monitoring the implications of this announcement. In the meantime, if you would like any further advice as to how this might affect your plans for development, contact Downs Solicitors to see how we can help.
Contact Gemma Lawrence
