Council launches bold new charter to safeguard rivers and waterways

The motion, passed at Full Council on 28 January 2026, commits the authority to recognising the vital role that healthy water systems play in community wellbeing, biodiversity, and climate resilience. 

Leader of Forest of Dean District Council, Cllr Adrian Birch said: 

“Our rivers and waterways are part of what makes the Forest of Dean unique. They must be respected and cherished if our area is to remain a special place where people want to live and to visit.

"The Charter is a promise to our residents, their children and grandchildren. By recognising their importance we’re setting a clear expectation of how we care for the environment around us.

"It is a positive step that will help strengthen our natural assets, local wildlife and ensure the Forest remains a healthy, vibrant place to live.”

The newly adopted charter sets out a clear vision: that the rivers Wye, Leadon & Severn, along with their tributaries in the district, should be treated as a living system with fundamental rights. These include: the right to be free from pollution, to sustain rich biodiversity and thriving wildlife, to regenerate to a health state, to flow freely without unnecessary blockages, & to be supported by robust, healthy catchments.

As part of the Motion, the Council will write to the Minsiter for Water, Emma Hardy MP, constituency MP Matt Bishop and Mary Creagh MP, Minister for Nature to seek their support in championing the Charter’s aims at a national level. The letter will call for stronger legislative backing, improved resources for river restoration & recognition of the importance of protecting waterways as essential national assets.

Forest of Dean District Council joins over 20 other local authorities across the country including neighbouring authority Herefordshire County Council, in producing such a charter. It takes its cue from the example of other authorities who have emulated countries like Canada, Bolivia and New Zealand in asserting that rivers should have rights. In France, Paris City Council introduced a similar motion to protect the Seine. This is a progressive concept for a country where traditionally legal rights apply more to property ownership. But in proposing the concept that rivers should have rights as if they were legal entities, the Council hopes to boost public awareness and progress the cause of clean water supply and water management.

Head of the Water Improvement Group at Forest of Dean District Council, Cllr Andrew McDermid said: 

"It is heartening to realise the Charter is supported so strongly by council members. I see it as a beacon around which public opinion and action can rally and a tool to enable cooperation between like-minded local authorities and augurs well for the future.

"I would like to thank my fellow councillors for backing this important motion. As we’ve seen in other local authorities, adopting a charter like this can drive long term, measurable improvements in water quality and ecological health.

"These benefits extend beyond the environment itself, they strengthen our communities and help ensure a healthier, more resilient district."

Details for the motion put to Full Council can be found here: https://meetings.fdean.gov.uk/ieIssueDetails.aspx?IId=30540&PlanId=0&Opt=3#AI29558