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​The impact of nutrient neutrality requirements in the UK housing projects​

Doctoral Training Grant Funding Information 

This funding model includes a 36 month fully funded PhD Studentship, set in-line with UK Research & Innovation values. For 2025/6, this will be £20,780 per year. The tax-free stipend will be paid monthly. This PhD Studentship also includes a Full-Time Fee Scholarship for up to 3 years. The funding is subject to your continued registration on the research degree, making satisfactory progression within your PhD, as well as attendance on and successful completion of the Postgraduate Certificate in Research Practice.  

All applicants will receive the same stipend irrespective of fee status. 

Application Closing Date: 
Midday (UK Time) on Wednesday 17th September 2025 for a start date of 2nd February 2026. 

How to Apply 

To apply, please follow the below steps:  

  1. Complete the BCU Online Application Form 
  2. Complete the Doctoral Studentship Proposal Form in full, ensuring that you quote the project ID. You will be required to upload your proposal in place of a personal statement on the BCU online application form.  
  3. Upload two references to your online application form (at least one of which must be an academic reference). 
  4. Upload your qualification(s) for entry onto the research degree programme. This will be Bachelor/Master’s certificate(s) and transcript(s). 
  5. International applicants must also provide a valid English language qualification. Please see the list of English language qualifications accepted here. Please check the individual research degree course page for the required scores. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

To help support you to complete your application, please consult the frequently asked questions below: 

Project title: The impact of nutrient neutrality requirements in the UK housing projects​

Project Lead: ​​Dr Hong Xiao​

Project ID: ​​09 - 46543366​ 

Project description:

​​The UK has been experiencing chronic housing shortage for decades and the new Labour government has promised to build 1.5 million new houses by the end of this parliament. This is a very challenging target. To complicate the situation, nutrient neutrality regulations, aimed at reducing excess nitrates and phosphates in English water bodies, have imposed significant challenges for housing developers. Nutrients aid the excessive growth of algae which then impacts on ecosystems and wildlife. To better protect the environment, the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act and Natural England require authorities and developers propose and demonstrate upfront solutions to mitigate any additional nutrient run-off from both stormwater and increased foul waste to the water bodies.  

​Sustainable Urban Drainage Methods (commonly known as SuDS) has been widely used for surface water management because they work well at eradicating a number of contaminates, treating polluted runoff and creating biodiversity. Commonly used SuDS include wetlands, retention basins, swales, adapted landscape features (such as tree pits and rainwater gardens) and more manufactured / engineered options (such as oil separators, permeable paving and media filters). But these solutions either tend to be expensive, or if not expensive, not fully encompassing to the issue, too land hunger, or restrictive on when and where they can be utilised or are not yet widely known and deployed in the UK, creating a knowledge and skill gap in build and delivery. Furthermore, foul water / waste entering public network and treatment plants are restricted or prevented. Developers can opt through a credit scheme for mitigation off-site such as the development of a woodland or contribution to treatment of an agricultural field, but this costs money and needs further approvals, consideration and government input to confirm available sites.  ​ 

​There is a lack of consistency, understanding and innovation to resolve the unlocking of housing development alongside the wider water pollution issue. It is estimated that the cost of these methods will increase the price of per home £3,000–10,000, plus ongoing maintenance costs. This results in substantial financial and operational burdens to both the developers and home buyers, causing a huge number of prospective development sites being delayed or put on hold. ​  

​This research aims to understand the inter-connected issues in the life-cycle of a housing project in terms of nutrient neutrality requirements and develop a strategy to help housing developers to better navigate the planning process and make an informed decision on the cost-effective mitigation measures to protect the water quality of the rivers and ecosystems.​ 

Anticipated findings and contributions to knowledge:

The implications of nutrient neutrality requirements are acute to housing developers who normally operate with a very tight margin, and the additional costs for compliance are a significant burden. These costs are often passed down to the home buyers, contributing to higher house prices in an already strained housing market. The time required to navigate the planning and regulatory approval process, often delayed by nutrient neutrality considerations, can lead to increased holding costs and financial strain for housing developers. This uncertainty makes it difficult for the housing developers to plan effectively, secure financing and maintain a competitive position in the market.

This research aims to investigate all the inter-connected issues from the nutrient neutrality requirements in the life-cycle of a housing project and develop a cost-effective strategy of mitigating nutrient neutrality. This will help the government and local authorities to better understand the practical implications from the government’s relevant acts and planning regulations so they can provide workable guidance to implementing environment protection laws. The research findings will also help housing developers to effectively navigate the nutrient neutrality requirements during the project appraisal and planning application, select and implement cost-effective nutrient mitigation measures during the design and construction stages, and boost their output of affordable and sustainable houses to meet the market demand. This will also provide a blueprint for tackling other environmental issues such as flooding risk management in housing projects in the UK and beyond. ​

Person Specification:

Essentials: 

  • A Master’s degree or equivalent with good grades in relevant subjects (e.g. built environment, urban/town planning, environmental study, sustainability) 
  • Communication skills (speaking and writing) 
  • Research skills (information search, research design, data collection, data analysis) 
  • Highly motivated 
  • Independent study skills 
  • Time management skills 
  • Teamwork 

Desirable: 

  • Research experience 
  • Track record of publication (conference and/or journal) 
  • Industrial experience / connections

Overseas applicants:

International applicants must also provide a valid English language qualification, such as International English Language Test System (IELTS) or equivalent with an overall score of 6.5 with no band below 6.0.

Contact:

If you have any questions or need further information, please use the contact details below: 

- For enquiries about the funding or project proposal, please contact: hong.xiao@bcu.ac.uk​

- For enquiries about the application process, please contact: research.admissions@bcu.ac.uk