As the competent body under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (as amended) Cabinet is asked to note the progress being made towards creating Integrated Wetlands phosphate reduction and steps being taken to ensure Nutrient Certainty to the required standard of beyond reasonable scientific doubt.

The cabinet member infrastructure and transport introduced the report.

The interim delivery director waste transformation & wetland project summarised the content of the report and provided an update on progress on construction of the wetland at Luston. It was highlighted that the council would continue to explore what more it could do to address the issue of phosphate pollution and as part of this a cabinet commission was proposed.

Cabinet members welcomed the report as a first step in the journey and were pleased at the progress it represented.

The chairperson of the environment and sustainability scrutiny committee commented on the committee’s recent discussion of the proposal for a cabinet commission. The scrutiny committee welcomed the leadership shown on this issue and had made two recommendations to the cabinet. The chairperson of the committee noted the responses of the cabinet to these recommendations, highlighted the scrutiny committee’s desire to see as many councillors as possible given the chance to contribute and the need to continue to engage with national governments in Cardiff and Westminster as intervention and funding were required at a national level to fully address the issue.

The Cabinet member infrastructure and transport thanked all those who had worked on the project. He highlighted that the council was limited in what it could do to mitigate the impact of phosphate pollution and that it relied on national bodies to engage and to enforce national measures.

Group leaders and representatives presented the comments and queries from their respective groups. It was noted that:

·       long term solutions would require government action and changes in farming practices and effluent discharge;

·       the work of the nutrient management board should be recognised;

·       developers at the head of the queue had already been informed about the trading process and others were in the process of being contacted;

·       government proposals on nutrient trading schemes within the Levelling Up bill were welcomed and Herefordshire had offered to share the experience and expertise gained;

·       the council could provide advice to anyone wanting to bring forward private wetland developments and would encourage them to seek pre-application advice;

·       the trading system had tighter links than carbon credit trading as it was directly linked to the river;

·       it was important to get other bodies involved, including on the Welsh side of the border to tackle impacts upstream;

·       additional resources had been secured for the planning service in readiness for processing the planning applications as they were released;

·       the terms of reference of the cabinet commission were still to be finalised and would address some of the points raised in the discussion.

The chairperson of the nutrient management board was thanked for the work of that body. She welcomed the progress made and the fact that as an early adopter, Herefordshire would be able to share knowledge and experience with others seeking to develop their own schemes.

It was unanimously resolved that cabinet:

a)      Agree that all necessary due diligence to confirm Nutrient Certainty has now been achieved; 

b)      Authorise the Corporate Director Economy and Environment to commence the trading of credits as outlined in the Phosphate Credit Pricing and Allocation Policy agreed by Cabinet on 26 May 2022; 

c)      Establish a Cabinet Working Group to be called the Phosphates Commission - Restoring the River Wye - to consider how the Council and its partners can progress the wider systemic and strategic issues needed to address Phosphate Pollution in the Wye; 

d)      Agree that the Terms of Reference for the Phosphates Commission are agreed in writing by Cabinet with the Final Terms of Reference and Membership of the Phosphates Commission being reported to the next available meeting of Cabinet;

e)      Approve the response to the recommendations of the environment and sustainability scrutiny committee as set out in appendix 4; and

f)       To establish a Commissioning provision of £60k and delegate to the Corporate Director of Economy and Environment in consultation with the Deputy Leader of the Council commissioning expenditure decisions.