Recommendation 196

We heard condemnation of the lack of communication in advance of Natural England’s advice on nutrient and water neutrality, as well as the subsequent lack of and contradictory advice. 252 Natural England indicated that it worked on the advice for months but Defra and DLUHC took the decision that they “should not proactively signal that this advice was coming” because of concerns about legal risk and potentially causing a pre-emptive stalling in the granting of planning permissions. 253 This approach resulted in implementation “without warning and with significant consequences.” 254 Flaws in the guidance which could have been resolved in advance required several weeks to fix. 255