Northern Ireland Planning and Environment update

Welcome to the second edition of TLT’s Northern Ireland Planning and Environment update, where our experts share insight into planning and environmental law and policy developments relevant to Northern Ireland and, where appropriate, the Republic of Ireland. This issue focuses on water.

Policy/consultation updates

Waste water contributions

Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins recently announced the introduction of a voluntary contributions scheme for waste water infrastructure stating in March:

“This new voluntary pathway will give developers, who wish to do so, the opportunity to directly contribute to the costs of upgrading or replacing NI Water’s waste water infrastructure in areas where existing capacity is preventing new connections. No developer will be required to contribute if they do not wish – the choice will be entirely theirs.”

Whilst the developer contributions scheme will initially be voluntary, the Department of Infrastructure is considering the potential for a compulsory levy based on the experience and outcomes of the voluntary arrangements.

Provision of new waste water infrastructure has been an increasing constraint on housing delivery in many areas of Northern Ireland. Some developers are sceptical about the payments since, in their view, they already pay planning fees, make section 76 planning contributions, absorb rising construction costs and now are faced with an additional levy. Others are positive about the move, if it is proportionate to the scheme size, unlocks guaranteed capacity and allows much-needed development to proceed.

It is clear however that housing delivery cannot accelerate without a sustainable, long term funding model for wastewater infrastructure. The voluntary scheme may ease pressure in some locations, but it does not remove the need for systemic investment and a coherent strategy that aligns infrastructure capacity with housing need.

Regulation of water pollution

Separately, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Minister Andrew Muir is also keen to make changes to the enforcement and regulation of water pollution. He announced in March the following plans:

1. A new ‘Fisheries, Aquaculture and Water Environment Bill’ has been brought forward to the Assembly, aiming to increase the maximum fine for water pollution to £50,000 and introduce the ability to issue fixed penalty notices.
2. The Department of Justice’s planned sentencing review for 2026 will include environmental offences, with a view to strengthening the framework.
3. At the time of writing, NIEA has stated that it intends to withdraw from the Statement of Regulatory Principles and Intent (the current administrative arrangement with NI Water established in 2007) citing constrains on regulatory enforcement action against NI Water.
4. To seek Executive agreement to protect Belfast Lough and designate the shellfish water protected area as a sensitive area under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations (NI).
5. To review and put in place new standards for discharge consents which will result in new conditions being included that may result in more stringent standards than previously applied.
6. To improve the monitoring and reporting of NI Water's activities: NI Water is rolling out an installation programme for monitors on combined sewer overflows and pumping stations across its wastewater network and NIEA is to introduce unannounced sampling of wastewater treatment works in 2026.
7. Clarifying the impact of PC21 (Price Control 2021-2017) being underfunded with the Department no longer supporting the ‘no detriment principle’ as a mechanism to enable wastewater capacity for new connections. Effectively this would prevent NI Water from approving connections where compensatory measures within the existing network were otherwise available.
8. Setting up an independent environmental protection agency to ensure NI is not the only part of the UK without an independent environmental protection agency.

These changes signal a shift towards deterrence for environmental offences and reflect growing public pressure over water quality, particularly given the annual re-occurrence of algal blooms in Lough Neagh and wider concerns over nutrient overloading in rivers.

Where this leaves developers remains to be seen – expect increased scrutiny when applying for discharge consents and uncertainty around capacity for new connections. Perhaps this will force a move towards the voluntary payment scheme for new sewer connections mentioned above.

Nutrient Action Programme

The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) published a report at the end of April assessing the effectiveness and application of the 2019 Nutrient Action Programme (NAP) given NI’s nutrient emissions from agriculture and wastewater. It concludes that the regulations need to be significantly strengthened and better implemented if they are to deliver improved water quality as intended.

The report also finds the current regulations will not be able to deliver the legally binding target of “good ecological status” for lakes, rivers and coastal waters and the goals of Northern Ireland’s first Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), which was agreed by the Executive in 2024.

Key recommendations include:  

• Limiting the amount of extra nutrients given to animals and crops, to reduce the high quantity of excess nutrients polluting waterways.
• Better enforcement to ensure fairness of the regulations. Increase inspections to check farms are adhering to nitrogen limits.
• Providing more on-farm support for nutrient management for farmers.
• Calculating the reductions in nutrient pollution, from farming and wastewater, that is needed to achieve clean water.

DAERA is legally required to review the NAP Regulations every four years. The next round of NAP proposals have just went live this week as DAERA launched a public consultation on the proposed NAP 2027–2030. Revising the NAP Regulations poses a challenge in balancing agriculture’s economic contribution and the urgent need to protect water quality. Stakeholders who have an interest in this issue should respond to the consultation to shape the final framework.

NI’s Environmental Improvement Plan

In June, the OEP also published its first report on the delivery of NI’s EIP. In short, it found that the current pace and scale of action would not deliver the change that was needed for the plan to be effective.

It recognises that actions in the EIP are not effectively addressing major pressures such as improving NI’s water environment by investing in wastewater infrastructure and reducing excess nutrients from agriculture pollution. It also criticises delays in key policies and strategies such as the Ammonia Strategy, the Nutrient Actions Programme and Marine Plan for NI.

One of the OEP’s key recommendations is therefore to address pollution caused by nutrients from agriculture and wastewater. Just last week, Minister Muir announced that a total of £49.3 million of funding has been secured for 2027-2031 for the new Lough Neagh Area Water Quality programme. This includes funding from the Department of the Taoiseach representing an all-Ireland commitment to solving the ongoing Lough Neagh crisis.

The initiative will provide specific advisory support and financial assistance to farm businesses through the development of water environment management plans and the delivery of specific on farm measures, such as water course fencing, creation of riparian margins, tree and hedge planting and livestock watering systems. For farmers this will bring new opportunities (which has so far been welcomed) but also new regulatory oversight with more monitoring and stronger expectations to adopt nutrient-reducing measures.

Case law updates

Nutrient overloading of rivers and watercourses is an issue across the UK and Ireland, and is not confined to NI. In recent years, the River Wye in England has become the focus of legal disputes, largely due to pollution linked to intensive agriculture. In 2024, the High Court handed down a judgment[1], dismissing a challenge by River Action to the Environment Agency’s policy on the enforcement of the “Farming Rules for Water”[2]. In short, these rules are to stop fertilisers running from farms into streams and rivers causing accelerated algae growth. The Court recognised the water quality issues, that there were not sufficient penalties for farmers breaching the rules but that the law did not require that the Environment Agency pursue a sanction for every breach.

This decision effectively affirmed the Environment Agency’s discretion to enforce with the Court affording the regulatory authority a broad margin of judgment. The case also highlighted the concerns of campaigners about the regulatory framework not being robust enough.  As nutrient pollution continues to dominate headlines and shape public discourse, pressure is likely to intensify on government and regulators to strengthen enforcement mechanisms behind them across the UK.

Just last month the River Wye was back in the headlines. This time a legal claim about pollution in the river backed by more than 4,500 campaigners began in the English High Court. The civil claim is against chicken producer Avara Foods Limited and Welsh Water, and the case argues that the farming operations of Avara Foods and the management of the sewer system has resulted in widespread pollution. The case is significant as it represents the largest environmental civil action brought by members of the public in recent years. It also signals a shift towards campaigners seeking to hold both agricultural producers and water companies jointly accountable for nutrient pollution. More broadly, the Wye litigation illustrates a pattern that is increasingly relevant to Northern Ireland: where regulators are perceived as slow or constrained, campaigners are turning to the courts to try to force action.

See also our previous legal insight on the UK Supreme Court’s decision confirming the potential for nuisance claims against water companies reinforcing the trend towards stronger oversight of utility companies

Lastly, and on the topic of nitrates, a request for a preliminary ruling has been submitted to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) from the High Court in Ireland in case C-531/24 seeking clarification on the interpretation of the Nitrates Directive and the procedural obligations arising under EU environmental law. In particular, it asks whether the adoption and application of national programmes in Ireland and derogations from meeting targets comply with EU requirements designed to prevent water pollution from agricultural sources. Importantly, it also seeks the CJEU’s view on whether environmental organisations must be granted effective access to judicial review to challenge those measures .

As NI still continues to follow large parts of EU environmental law and shares transboundary watercourses with Ireland, the outcome of this ruling may well have implications for NI as any clarification or tightening of legal obligations by the CJEU could also shape NI’s regulatory approach given the scrutiny already being applied to NI’s nutrient emissions from agricultural practices. Pressure to align on such regulatory matters across the whole island is one potential direction of travel, so this case is one to monitor.      

Looking ahead

Lough Neagh is the largest freshwater lake in the UK, supplying drinking water to over 40% of NI’s population. The blue-green algae crisis in Lough Neagh has not gone unnoticed and an eel fisherman is now taking judicial review proceedings against DAERA contending that the Department has failed in its statutory duties to protect water quality and the environment following years of pollution from farming, wastewater and invasive species.

In recent years, NI has certainly seen a trend in more environmental judicial reviews making it through the Court doors. River Action UK (who are also supporting the Wye River claims above) and Friends of the Earth NI both applied to intervene in the Lough Neagh proceedings so it is one to watch as the judgment could have far reaching implications for water-quality regulation across NI.

With NI Assembly elections in May 2027, and no party officially calling for the introduction of water charges, NI’s structural funding problem is guaranteed to persist.

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[1] R (River Action) v Environment Agency [2024] EWHC 1279 (Admin)

[2] ‘the Reduction and Prevention of Agricultural Diffuse Pollution (England) Regulations 2018’

This publication is intended for general guidance and represents our understanding of the relevant law and practice as at July 2026. Specific advice should be sought for specific cases. For more information see our terms & conditions.