Nutrient neutrality catchment map

All 27 Natural England catchments on one map, coloured by the nutrient that applies. Find your site, then open the calculator already set to it.

Is my site in a nutrient neutrality catchment? If it falls inside one of the shaded areas below, yes — and the planning authority cannot grant permission until a nutrient budget shows the development adds no more nitrogen or phosphorus to the protected water. 4 catchments are assessed for nitrogen, 14 for phosphorus and 9 for both. Click a catchment for what applies there.
Map of the 27 Natural England nutrient neutrality catchments England and Wales with each nutrient neutrality catchment shaded by the nutrient that applies to it. Every catchment on the map is also listed as a link below the map. Solent — nitrogen River Avon (Christchurch) — phosphorus Tees (Teesmouth) — nitrogen Somerset Levels & Moors — phosphorus The Broads — nitrogen and phosphorus River Eden — phosphorus River Lugg — phosphorus Poole Harbour — nitrogen Stodmarsh — nitrogen and phosphorus River Wensum — nitrogen and phosphorus Derwent & Bassenthwaite — phosphorus River Itchen — phosphorus River Axe — phosphorus Lindisfarne — nitrogen River Camel — phosphorus River Lambourn — phosphorus River Clun — nitrogen and phosphorus River Mease — phosphorus West Midlands Mosses — nitrogen and phosphorus Peak District Dales — phosphorus River Kent — phosphorus Chesil & the Fleet — nitrogen and phosphorus Hornsea Mere — nitrogen and phosphorus Roman Walls Loughs — phosphorus Esthwaite Water — phosphorus Rostherne Mere — nitrogen and phosphorus Oak Mere — nitrogen and phosphorus

  • Nitrogen (4)
  • Phosphorus (14)
  • Both (9)
  • Dotted catchments are too small to shade at this scale.

Catchment boundaries: Nutrient Neutrality Catchments (England), Natural England, under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Country outline: ONS, December 2023. Boundaries are generalised for display — see below.

Read the map as a first check, not a determination

The shapes here are Natural England's own boundaries, simplified to roughly 400 metres so the page loads instantly. That is fine for working out which catchment you are in and which nutrient applies. It is not fine for deciding a site that sits close to a boundary: at that scale the simplification is larger than the question. Where it is marginal, the planning authority and Natural England's published mapping decide, and the answer is worth getting in writing before you design around it.

The map also shows catchments, not policy. A catchment being shaded does not tell you which local planning authority covers your site, what mitigation is available there, or whether credits are currently being sold — those sit on each catchment's own page.

Neighbouring catchments, different nutrients

The nutrient follows what the protected site is sensitive to, not the geography. The River Avon SAC around Christchurch is phosphorus; Poole Harbour, a few miles west, is nitrogen. Dual-nutrient catchments like Stodmarsh and The Broads need both budgets at once. Assuming the nutrient from a neighbouring scheme is the most expensive mistake in this whole subject, and the map is coloured the way it is to make that impossible to miss.

Every catchment, by region

The same 27 catchments as text — the nutrient that applies, and a link to what it means for your scheme.

Dorset

Hampshire, West Sussex & Isle of Wight

Teesside, Durham & North Yorkshire

Northumberland

Kent

Norfolk & Suffolk

Norfolk

East Yorkshire

Cheshire

Shropshire, Staffordshire & Cheshire

Shropshire

Wiltshire, Hampshire & Dorset

Somerset

Hampshire

Somerset, Devon & Dorset

Cornwall

Cumbria

Berkshire

Herefordshire

Leicestershire, Derbyshire & Staffordshire

Derbyshire & Staffordshire

Found it? Work out the budget

NutrientMonkey builds the nutrient budget for any of the 27 catchments to Natural England's published methodology, including the precautionary buffer, and sizes the shortfall in kg so you know how many credits you are shopping for. It is free on screen — you only pay for the planning-ready PDF.

Open NutrientMonkey — free, no sign-up What the calculator does →

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if my site is in a nutrient neutrality catchment?

Find the area on the map — if your site falls inside a shaded catchment, nutrient neutrality applies and the planning authority will expect a nutrient budget before it can grant permission. The boundaries here are Natural England’s own, generalised for display, so treat the map as a first check rather than a determination: where a site is close to a boundary, the local planning authority and Natural England’s published mapping decide.

Where does this map come from?

Natural England’s Nutrient Neutrality Catchments (England) dataset, published under the Open Government Licence, with England and Wales outlined from the ONS December 2023 country boundaries. The catchment shapes are simplified to about 400 metres so the map loads instantly and works offline; the underlying data is unaltered.

Why do neighbouring catchments have different nutrients?

Because the nutrient is set by what the protected site is sensitive to, not by geography. The River Avon SAC around Christchurch is phosphorus, and Poole Harbour immediately next door is nitrogen — sites a few miles apart need different budgets. Getting this wrong is the most common mistake on the south coast, which is why every catchment is coloured by its nutrient here.

What do I do once I have found my catchment?

Click it. Each catchment has its own page covering the nutrient that applies, the credit position and what the planning authority is asking for, and a button that opens NutrientMonkey already set to that catchment. Working the budget out on screen is free; the planning-ready PDF is £79 +VAT.

Does the map show where I can buy credits?

Not directly — credit schemes do not map neatly onto catchment boundaries, and several catchments have more than one provider. Each catchment page lists the schemes covering it and their published prices per kg per year where those are verifiable, with the date they were checked.

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