Housebuilders could pay farmers to grow certain crops or leave fields fallow in an attempt to end a pollution limbo blocking Norfolk homes schemes.

But members of the farming community have said they have reservations about such a move - and how it would work.

Council bosses are trying to come up with solutions to a situation which has stopped them being able to give the green light to new homes.

They have been prevented from doing so due to a directive by government advisors Natural England, following concerns about nutrient pollution in the Broads and River Wensum.

%image(14365317, type="article-full", alt="Just 8pc of Norfolk's rivers are rated as being "good" quality")

Long-term solutions to reach nutrient neutrality are likely to involve the creation of new wetland areas, conversation grasslands, heathland and new wastewater treatment facilities.

But short-term solutions, to allow planning permission for homes to be granted in the meantime, are also being investigated.

That could see developers asked to pay 'credits' into a pooled pot, which councils would add further money to, so it could be spent on a portfolio of measures to reduce nutrients going into waterways.

Council bosses are considering whether some money could be used to compensate farmers in return for them keeping fields crop-free for periods.

The idea is that such measures - off-site from actual housing developments - might be a way to reduce the total amount of nitrates and phosphates running into rivers and satisfy Natural England.

Farmers could also be paid to grow certain types of crops which would help retain nutrients in the ground, while ditches and buffer strips could also be created to prevent run-off.

Council officers are also looking at the benefits of sustainable drainage systems.

They are also looking into retrofitting existing housing developments to improve water efficiency, with phosphates from washing machines among major contributors to pollution from homes.

%image(14365322, type="article-full", alt="Phil Courtier, director of place at South Norfolk and Broadland councils")

Phil Courtier, director of place for Broadland and South Norfolk councils, who is working with colleagues from other councils to help find solutions, said: "I think this is the biggest challenge the development sector, including South Norfolk and Broadland, has faced in delivering the homes that people need in this area.

"I think, as developers continue to realise the scale of the impact this has, there is a lot of nervousness as to what that means for them.

"I think there is an acceptance and a confidence that we are trying to collaborate as effectively as possible to find solutions to get us through this."

Mr Courtier said he was hoping the council would get the go-ahead from Natural England to bring short-term measures in by the end of the year, so plans could be approved.

But farmers have reservations about what is being suggested.

%image(14365323, type="article-full", alt="Wensum Farmers Group advisor Lizzie Emmett surveying wildlife in a restored pond")

Lizzie Emmett is advisor to the Wensum Farmers - a group of 29 farmers working together to improve water quality and enhance biodiversity in the River Wensum catchment area.

Miss Emmett said their own modelling and testing of water showed the Wensum was in a poor state - but that agriculture's contribution to that had been overstated.

She said: "We do have massive concerns about the quality of the Wensum and there's not a huge feeling that all the new houses are needed.

"It is a really complex problem. We are willing to hear what the councils have to say.

"The main issue is that they want to pay for this and they want to do it now.

"But if they are going to pay farmers to do this, there needs to be a legally binding document and everyone needs to understand the repercussions in terms of the legality and the policing of that.

"And I'm not sure they have fully thought about that."

Why has nutrient neutrality become an issue?

Natural England told Norfolk’s councils in March that they cannot grant planning permission for any schemes involving 'overnight accommodation', until they can prove developments in catchment areas would not lead to phosphates and other nutrients flowing into the River Wensum and the Broads.

Natural England said too many nutrients can lead to excessive growth of algae, making it harder for aquatic species to survive.

Peterborough-based Royal HaskoningDHV has been awarded a £75,000 contract to prepare a Nitrate and Phosphate Mitigation Strategy.

A calculator for developers to use to identify what the nutrient load of their schemes would be - and what level of mitigation, if any, that would require - is also being created.

The issue also has potential repercussions on the approval of the Greater Norwich Local Plan - a blueprint for where thousands of homes could be built.