Letter from the Chief Planner
On 30 January 2024, the Chief Planner published a letter. It provides an update on the designation of sensitive catchment areas and upgrades to wastewater treatment works.
Guidance from Natural England
Natural England published updated guidance in November 2022. NECR459 Edition 1 Nutrient Neutrality Generic Methodology updated the previous document in March.
Natural England released a new national approach in March 2022. It included tools and guidance on nutrients mitigation. The guidance included:
Nutrient Neutral Generic Methodology (since updated)
Natural England also released a new calculator for completing a nutrient budget. We discussed this with them and issued an updated Cornwall Council calculator. You will need to rerun phosphate budget calculations for pending planning applications. You can find full details on our Nutrient neutrality and planning applications webpage.
In February 2026, Natural England updated the nutrient neutrality rules for the River Camel. Letter from Natural England - February 2026. This has changed the boundary of the affected areas. The changes are included in their letter. We updated the Cornwall Council phosphate budget calculator in July 2026 to reflect these changes.
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