Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has strengthened its commitment to protect rivers and streams in northern Hampshire.

On Tuesday (10 March), the council’s decision-making Cabinet adopted a new ‘Declaration on Rights of Rivers’ that pledges to recognise the principle of formal rights for Basingstoke and Deane’s waterways. 

Inspired by the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers, the council’s charter sets out six rights for the borough’s rivers and streams: to flow freely, to work as part of their ecosystems, to be free from pollution, to replenish and be replenished by sustainable water systems, to recover and regenerate, and to sustain native biodiversity. 

The adoption of the declaration means that the council will now consider the principles of these rights in its decisions and policies, where possible. This could include policies about planning, development, land use, water quality and management and biodiversity. 

It commits the council to put these rights into practice by taking action, as far as it can, to protect and enhance local waterways, including through strengthening its already close work with communities, groups, river trusts and environmental experts. 

And it will also see these rights advocated to regional and national bodies, including the Environment Agency, as the council encourages them to enhance protections for freshwater streams and rivers. 

Cabinet Member for the Climate and Ecological Emergency Cllr Chris Tomblin said: “Many important rivers and streams flow in Basingstoke and Deane. That includes the springs and headwaters of the River Loddon and River Test, two ecologically fragile, globally rare and irreplaceable chalk stream habitats. 

“There are only around 200 chalk streams in the world, with an estimated 85% of them right here in England. Our streams and rivers are vital habitats that support wildlife, people and the environment, and yet they are under increasing and unsustainable pressure. 

“This council is already taking action on the issue. That includes immediate steps to monitor and improve river quality, from surveying river flies as indicators of river health to supporting partners like the South East Rivers Trust in tracking sewage spills during storms and testing water quality. 

“As we refresh our green infrastructure strategy into a blue and green infrastructure strategy to include water, our aim is to strengthen it with even more robust policies for protecting and enhancing the special qualities of our waterways.  

“And last summer, we wrote to the government to urge intervention to protect the River Test and its wildlife in light of Southern Water’s proposed drought order, which would have allowed the company to continue drawing water even if flows fell below the usual set limit. 

“By adopting this declaration, we are shining a light on these irreplaceable habitats as we reaffirm our commitment to go as far as we can as a district council to protect and enhance the rivers and streams that cross the 245 square miles of land in north Hampshire we are a custodian of.”    

The council’s newly adopted ‘Declaration on Rights of Rivers’ reiterates its 2021 ecological emergency declaration pledge to protect the natural environment in a way that puts a renewed focus on the challenges facing local rivers and streams. 

The ‘Declaration on Rights of Rivers’ can be read at www.basingstoke.gov.uk/rights-of-rivers