Labour MP Chris Hinchliff has called on the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) to step in and stop approval of the first environmental delivery plan (EDP), which would let 15,780 homes go up in the Norfolk Broads while developers pay £2,675 per house – about £42m in total. Critics brand the scheme 'cash for trash' housebuilding in the Norfolk Broads, while ministers call EDPs a 'win-win' for nature and growth.

What the plan would allow

The plan is the first of its kind under Labour's planning reforms. It allows harm to protected habitats and species to be overlooked if developers pay into a central nature restoration fund used for later conservation work. In exchange for the per-house payment, developers get permission to build 15,780 new homes.

Ministers argue the approach unblocks growth toward their target of 1.5m new homes by the end of this parliament.

The MP's case against the plan

Hinchliff, the Labour MP for North East Hertfordshire, wrote to OEP chief executive Natalie Prosser setting out his objections. In it he warned of the consequences of inaction.

• •He said Natural England's own figures show about 83% of the extra nitrogen and up to 61% of the extra phosphorus would still go into the water permanently.
• •He said the EDP is in breach of the requirements of the government's Planning and Infrastructure Act and is not based on the best available science.
• •He said the plan does not address the pollution itself: measures such as septic tank upgrades and riverside buffer strips were omitted.

Instead, the MP said the plan relies on indirect measures: fen cutting, deer control, catch-dyke works, removing one weir and restoring one kilometre of river.

What campaigners and conservationists say

Critics have called the EDPs 'cash to trash', saying they roll back decades of environmental law. Broadcaster Chris Packham, supporting WildFish's campaign against the Norfolk plan, said environmental laws fought for over decades would be cancelled at the stroke of a pen.

The Norfolk Broads are home to more than a quarter of the UK's rarest plants and animals. Packham said these are among Europe's most precious wetlands but that they are drowning in pollution and the government has devised a scheme to pour in more.

The Wildlife Trusts said the EDP would let phosphorus from new homes increase existing pollution levels on the rivers Yare, Bure and Wensum without sufficient mitigation. Matthew Browne, the trust's head of public affairs, said: "Even minor increases could be enough to tip the health of these rivers over the edge".

The Broads are already in ecological decline and, according to the report, require cuts of 91-97% in nutrient pollution to recover.

The defence and the deadline

Natural England accepts the development would cause physical, chemical, hydrological and biological damage to the habitats and rare species through increased nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. But Bradley Tooze, its nature restoration fund director, said the plan "aims to deliver better outcomes to protect the precious habitats of the Norfolk Broads while enabling sustainable development".

A government spokesperson said: "It's based on the latest evidence and has been scrutinised by a scientific panel including independent experts".

The Norfolk Broads EDP is out to consultation, which ends on 31 October.