Basingstoke and Dean Borough Council has declared Rights for Rivers, strengthening its commitment to protect rivers and streams in Hampshire, including tributaries of the Kennet, the Kingsclere Brook and River Enborne.
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.
Read the full press release here.
