New Transitional Rules Protect Developers from Stricter Wetland Regulations
Recent regulatory changes have eased concerns among developers following the introduction of new environmental protections for Ramsar-designated wetlands. These transitional arrangements ensure that a pivotal Supreme Court ruling supporting housing development remains intact despite the updated legal framework.
Last week saw the implementation of provisions within the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, which extended the Habitats Regulations protections to include Ramsar sites. These internationally recognised wetlands, protected under the Ramsar Convention, encompass areas such as the Somerset Levels and Moors, parts of The Fens, The Wash, New Forest, Broadland, and estuaries of major rivers including the Thames, Mersey, Severn, and Humber.
The Act introduced a provision placing Ramsar sites on an equal statutory footing with European Protected Sites. This change would require developments impacting these wetlands to demonstrate “nutrient neutrality”—a measure designed to prevent increases in harmful nutrients like phosphates and nitrates in sensitive water bodies. The nutrient neutrality requirement has previously caused significant delays and halted numerous housing projects nationwide.
With no clear timeline for when this provision would take effect, developers rushed to secure reserved matters approvals and discharge conditions before the new rules were enforced. Those operating in regions such as Somerset feared that these changes might overturn the principles established by last year’s Supreme Court decision in the CG Fry case.
Clarke Willmott, a national law firm, represented Dorset-based developer CG Fry & Son in the successful Supreme Court appeal. The case challenged whether nutrient neutrality rules should apply to developments granted planning permission prior to Natural England’s guidance introduction in August 2020.
CG Fry & Son had obtained outline planning permission in 2015 for a 650-home development at Jurston Farm in Wellington, Somerset. However, the company was unable to proceed with the third phase after Somerset Council cited non-compliance with nutrient neutrality standards introduced by Natural England in 2020.
The legal dispute focused on interpreting the Habitats Regulations 2017, the effect of outline planning permission, and the implications of policy changes introduced after permission was granted.
Caroline Waller, partner in Clarke Willmott’s planning and environment team and part of the legal team representing CG Fry, commented on the new provisions: “The application of these latest provisions is something that developers in affected areas—particularly Somerset—have been awaiting with some trepidation due to the impact that this would have to the practical application of the principles set out in the CG Fry Supreme Court decision.”
She added, “Thankfully the Government has included transitional provisions to mitigate the impacts on affected developers. The change will not affect any project where planning permission was granted before 17th August 2020—the date on which Natural England published its advice note relating to development with possible effects on the Somerset Levels and Moors Ramsar site.”
Waller further noted, “The legislation appears to have been drafted with specific reference to the facts that gave rise to the CG Fry case, to ensure that developers in Somerset will be in no worse position as a result of the new Regulations coming into force.”
Clarke Willmott operates nationally with offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Southampton, and Taunton. The firm provides comprehensive legal services to the residential development sector, covering land acquisition, planning, construction, site setup, and plot conveyancing. They advise three of the UK’s five largest housebuilders.
