The government is announcing changes water pollution rules in an effort to boost UK housebuilding numbers.

Under the new plans, it will become easier to build new homes near protected waterways with the government insisting any environmental damage being “more than offset” by additional funding for water improvement.

According to the UK government, legacy EU laws on nutrient neutrality are currently blocking the delivery of new homes, including cases where planning permission has already been granted.

‘Nutrients entering our rivers are a real problem, but the contribution made by new homes is very small. These laws which originate from Brussels put a block on new homes in certain areas – taking away control over what is built, and when, from local people.’

The government statement added that over 100,000 homes held up due to defective EU laws will be unblocked between now and 2030, delivering an estimated £18bn boost to the economy.

This will be achieved through an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.

The announcement will please major developers  who insist the rules are being applied so strictly that they are unable to build new homes in large parts of England. Building industry projections say UK housebuilding is projected to soon fall below levels not seen witnessed since the second world war.

One source in the housebuilding industry told The Guardian: “This is undoubtedly good news for Britain’s housing supply. The only question is why it has taken so long for the government to get round to doing something about this.”

However, opposition parties and environmental groups are not happy about the proposed plans. Specifically they point to how large housing developments pose a risk due the wastewater and sewage that can come from new homes – in addition to pollutants from the construction sites themselves.

The Wildlife Trust has accused the government of “disgusting behaviour” and stressed that the plans will increase sewage levels without solving the root causes of the housing supply problem.

The trust’s chief executive Craig Bennett told BBC’ s Today programme on Radio 4 the nutrient neutral rules are very modest as they “require the housebuilders not to cut pollution, but just to stop it getting worse”.

“Unfortunately, the housebuilders have been adept over many years at wriggling out of their environmental commitments and they’ve succeeded yet again,” he said.

National Federation of Builders and House Builders Association head of policy  Rico Wojtulewicz, countered that the proposed changes were not a weakening of government environmental regulation, but an attempt to fix weak environmental strategy.

If the government wanted to prevent water contamination it “should be tackling farming issues and forcing water companies to invest” rather than restricting housing developments, Wojtulewicz said.