In the United Kingdom, Parliament maintains an environmental constraint from the EU

Announced at the end of August by the conservative government, this measure easing the constraints linked to the risks of water pollution should, according to the executive, make it possible to "unblock" the construction of 100.000 housing units by 2030.

She planned to return to European regulations requiring real estate developers to compensate for releases into the environment of polluting substances emanating from their projects.

"I want to see more houses built (...) But sometimes the European laws that we have inherited are an obstacle. It's not fair", notably defended Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

But the amendment introduced into a law on territorial rebalancing was rejected in the House of Lords on Wednesday evening and can no longer be reintroduced into the text during a next reading due to a rule of parliamentary procedure.

“There are far better ways to build the new homes we need than to do so at the expense of our precious environment,” said Labor member of the House of Lords Helene Hayman.

The measure had been criticized by environmental associations, which for years have denounced water pollution in the country, in particular the discharge of wastewater into rivers and the sea by water treatment companies.