Nutrient Neutrality: Brookbanks assists the HBF
Brookbanks is proud to have assisted the HBF in the research published in The Times this morning. The research highlights the disproportionate impact the current nutrient neutrality rules are having on new housing delivery in England.
Brookbanks have worked with the Home Builders Federation (HBF) to review the extent to which new home building contributes to nutrient pollution in England’s watercourses. The main contributor of phosphorus to watercourses comes from sewage discharged from wastewater treatment works directly into the watercourses.
Despite this, there is little pressure on the water authorities to clean up the sewage further. Instead, the onus has been placed onto the housebuilder to mitigate the impacts, typically at high costs to the developer with little benefit to the occupant, developer and even the watercourses, due to the minimal amount of nutrients discharged from these new sites.
Brookbanks are the UKs leading technical experts in development related nutrient impacts.
Get in touch with us to find out more about this research and how we can assist.
Technical Director, Land, Development and Communities Group
Dean Swann
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Principal Engineer
Siobhán McGlynn
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Our July 2026 Newsletter
August 17, 2026
This month, we’ve continued to explore many of the key themes currently influencing the built environment, from sustainable drainage and climate resilience through to structural efficiency, site disposal and long-term project performance. A particular highlight from the past month was the publication of our new report, written in conjunction with the Home Builders Federation (HBF), examining Sustainable Drainage Systems and the opportunities we’ve identified in Wales to support greater consistency, certainty and efficiency ahead of guidance becoming legislation across England. This month, we also shared some exciting leadership news as we continue to grow and evolve following our recent partnership with CBPE. Plus, read on to take a look back at our latest thought leadership article covering development viability, as well as three podcast episodes from the past few weeks.