Basingstoke and Deane (UK) Council Motion: rights of rivers and chalk streams

Summary

At the meeting of Council on 15 May 2025, a motion was passed by the Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council in Hampshire, England (41 in favor and 0 against) to bestow rights on Hampshire’s local rivers and chalk streams, informed by the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers.

The motion states: “This Council recognises the growing global movement of ‘Rights of Nature’ as an important framework for modifying and improving its relationship with the natural environment” and “is committed to supporting our interactions with local rivers and chalk streams in the context of the ‘Rights of Rivers’ movement, through which the health of our waterways and native species can be maintained and improved.”

The motion requests the Cabinet to work alongside local communities and relevant stakeholders to develop a Declaration on the Rights of the Rivers for endorsement by the Council by Spring 2026. The motion was referred to Cabinet for consideration and accepted on June 10, agreeing to establish a working party to address the points set out in the motion.

Declaration on the Rights of Rivers
The working party met for the first time in June 2025, with the participation of the Cabinet Member for Climate and Ecological Emergencies, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure, and the Councillors who proposed the motion. The group met monthly since inception to consider and guide the wording of the declaration to ensure that it aligns with the approach of the emerging Local Plan (due to be published for consultation in Summer 2026), to ensure that the plan is found sound at a future examination.

On 10 March 2026, Chris Tomblin (Cabinet Member for Climate and Ecological Emergency) presented a Declaration on the Rights of Rivers for adoption by the Cabinet. The declaration is helpful in providing the Council’s formal view on rights for rivers across the Borough which will help guide key strategies in the future.

Rights set forth include:
1. The right to natural and seasonal flow patterns.
2. The right to sustain the hydrological and ecological processes that underpin the health of the waterways and landscape.
3. The right to be free from pollution.
4. The right to be replenished by, and to replenish, groundwater systems without unsustainable depletion.
5. The right to native biodiversity.
6. The right to recover from damage, including through active protection, remediation and investment in habitat restoration.

Legal Structure
District/Borough Councils in England are elected authorities handling local, day-to-day functions. A council cabinet is a smaller group of 8–10 councillors within a council, appointed to make executive decisions. The Full Council (all elected members) sets the budget and policy framework, but the cabinet makes the actual decisions to implement those policies.

Ecosystem Context
There are around 200 chalk streams known globally, with approximately 85% found in England (Chalk Streams UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site Bill, 2026). The motion points out that there is broad consensus among environmental NGOs that the rarity and ecological significance of these streams should earn them a special protected status.

The Council notes the chalk streams within Basingstoke & Deane Borough, including the River Loddon and River Test amongst others, are globally rare and ecologically fragile, and are exceptionally vulnerable to over-abstraction and habitat degradation, due to pressures from pollution and increasing urbanization.

The motion reports that only 14% of UK rivers are in good ecological health, with 0% in good chemical health. It emphasizes that water quality in chalk streams across the UK continues to worsen, with detrimental impacts on wildlife. Salmon, genetically distinct to southern chalk streams, are at a tipping point of extinction.

Community Context
The initiative is backed by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and shaped by community voices. Consultation with residents revealed significant concern about the increasing pressures of over-abstraction, wastewater pollution and road-runoff, and that new developments in the Borough will exacerbate these problems and place further pressure on the water supply.

The motion highlights that “Residents are supportive of the Rights of the River framework and are eager to be involved with further efforts to clean up local rivers, valuing community engagement, education opportunities and citizen science projects to understand their local rivers.”

Impact Statement

Once the declaration has been adopted by Cabinet, work streams will progress key actions to deliver and support the content, including refinement of the policies in the emerging Local Plan, actions in the Biodiversity Strategy, and preparation of the Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy alongside other actions such as lobbying and influencing key documents prepared by the Environment Agency, Natural England, and strategies prepared by the water companies.

In March 2026, a proposal was presented in UK parliament to recognize UNESCO World Heritage status for chalk streams in England.

Involved Organizations

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