Wealden (UK) Council Motion: rights of rivers and the River Medway

Summary

On 16 July 2025, the Wealden District Council passed a non-binding motion supporting rights of rivers, and resolving to join representatives of Maidstone Borough Council and others to discuss a declaration of the rights of the River Medway on July 24, 2025.

The motion emphasizes that rivers in England are not thriving—citing the 2024 State of Our Rivers report by the River Trust, which found that no stretch of river in England is in high or good overall condition and 23% are in poor or bad overall condition.

The rights of rivers motion states that the Wealden District Council “supports the growing global movement for rights for nature in general and for rivers in particular as a framework for rethinking the relationship between human beings and the rest of the world.” It states that the Council supports the introduction into law of the following rights for rivers: to flow; to perform essential functions within their ecosystem; to be free from pollution; to feed, and to be fed, by sustainable aquifers; to native biodiversity; to regeneration and restoration; to legal personality, to be exercised through legal guardianship.

It also states that the Council will respond positively to proposals from community groups and organizations for similar declarations in respect of Wealden’s other rivers.

Impact Statement

The passage of this motion is not yet legal recognition. It is an acknowledgment that signals intention around the rights of rivers, and marks a shift in institutional language and opportunity for further discussion.