Council to consider adopting legal protections for rare chalk streams
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council is set to debate whether to formally recognise legal rights for the borough's rivers and rare chalk streams, including the "right to flow" and the "right to be free from pollution".
The motion proposed by Cllr Kate Tuck calls on the council to recognise the 'Rights of Nature', particularly the 'Rights of Rivers' for its rare natural chalk streams, including the River Loddon and River Test.
Her motion will be discussed at a full council meeting on Thursday (15 May).
There is broad consensus among nature NGOs including The Wildlife Trusts and the World Wildlife Fund that the rarity and ecological significance of these streams should earn them a special protected status, Cllr Tuck said.
Cllr Tuck, an Independent, warned that water quality in UK chalk streams is worsening, pushing the region's salmon population to a "tipping point of extinction".
However, she said: "There is hope in an emerging global movement of governments recognising the Rights of Nature, in particular the Rights of Rivers."
Her motion said: "Rights of Nature is an innovative way to alter our relationship with nature – from one of dominance to one of interdependency requiring a respectful, holistic and empathic approach.
"The idea of extending legal personhood rights to non-human entities is not a new concept, with these rights already extended to corporations globally to provide distinct legal status from individuals within an organisation."
If her motion is passed, the cabinet will be asked to work alongside local communities and relevant stakeholders to ensure the implementation of the Rights of Rivers along the borough's rivers and chalk streams.
"This will involve producing a 'Declaration on the Rights of the River' by relevant stakeholders to seek endorsement by the council by Spring 2026", it said.
The declaration includes the following fundamental rights for rivers: the right to flow, the right to perform essential functions within the river's ecosystem, the right to be free from pollution, the right to feed and be fed by sustainable aquifers, the right to native biodiversity, and; the right to regeneration and restoration.
The motion also calls on the council's cabinet to ensure that strategic planning will take account of the Rights of Rivers and chalk streams, "and that the council will take all necessary measures to protect these ecosystems, including within the Local Plan review and its successors".
The news comes a month after Lewes District Council adopted a similar policy after agreeing on a Rights of River Charter for the River Ouse.
The charter also drew on the Universal Declaration of River Rights and established eight new rights, including a recognition that the River Ouse should have the right to be free from pollution, is essential for ensuring life, including human life, and has a right to native biodiversity.
Adam Carey
