Agenda item

1       Introduction (not part of active motion)

 

The Green Group proposes the following motion to address resident concerns over the state of our rivers and chalk stream. We regard the river as an integral part of the life of our city. Threats to our rivers are threats to us all.

The purpose of this motion is to:

·      state our city’s aspirations for our river and chalk streams (“the declaration of the Rights of the River Cam”)

·      petition the organisations responsible for our river to improve their performance to help save our river and its tributaries.

·      recognise the limits placed by the critically depleted state of our river on future growth in buildings and infrastructure.

·      publicise the immediacy of the water crisis, creating awareness of the need to reduce water use.

Active Motion

 

1 Declaration of the Rights of the River Cam

This Council declares that the River Cam and its tributaries should have the following rights arising from their existence in nature:

·      The right to flow and be free from over-abstraction

·      The right to perform essential functions of flooding, moving sediment, recharging groundwater and sustaining biodiversity

·      The right to be free from pollution

·      The right to feed and be fed by sustainable aquifers

·      The right to native biodiversity

·      The right to restoration

·      The right to maintain connections with other streams and rivers

This Council undertakes to assess the impact of all its decisions on the health of the river and ensure that all its decisions support these rights.

This Council calls on all residents and organisations to act as guardians of the River Cam and engage with the river in a relationship of respect and stewardship.

2 Responsibility

This Council notes that the responsible bodies are:

·      Environment Agency – general oversight, including preventing environmental damage to water and associated biodiversity

·      Cambridge Water – ensuring adequate water supply

·      Anglian Water – management and treatment of sewage

The Council proposes to write to all three bodies to share its concerns over the state of the river and call upon them for their assistance.

The Council further notes that there are other bodies and institutions whose actions have significant impacts on the health of the river, and particularly highlights the importance of:

·      The University of Cambridge and its associated colleges, through the maintenance of their assets and the management of their activities

The Cambridge Development Corporation –

The Council proposes to write to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and the Chief Executive and Chair of the Cambridge Development Corporation to share its concerns over the state of the river and call upon them for their assistance.

3. Interaction with the Council’s own actions and the growth of the city

The Council proposes to set up a small cross-party group to draw up a plan for the actions that it can specifically undertake to contribute to protection of the river. This will include:

·      considering the impact of future growth in buildings and infrastructure in the city on the depleted state of our river

·      recognising the limits that may be necessary to respect the rights of the river

·      reporting back to full Council preferably prior to updating the Local Plan.

The group will consult with the various environmental organisations currently actively involved in working for the improved health of the river. For the avoidance of doubt, it is intended that this group will supplement rather than displace the work of existing scrutiny committees.

The Council proposes to initiate a publicity campaign to create wide awareness of the current water crisis and the urgent need to address both the increasing over-abstraction of water and the decreasing quality of water.

The Council will actively publicise the Environment Agency’s recommendations to take early action (e.g, water companies to reduce leakage as a priority, and initiate actions required under their drought plans), and encourage the public to do all it can to use water wisely.

End of Active Motion

 

Background Notes (not part of active motion):

 

1              In late 2025 the Environment Agency announced (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drought-prospects-for-spring-2026/executive-summary-and-acknowledgements-drought-prospects-for-spring-2026) that, unless we have average rainfall or more this winter, there will again be drought this year, with the area including Cambridge highlighted as being particularly vulnerable.

2              On 22 June 2026, the Environment Agency announced that the Cam and Ely Ouse catchment has been declared in an area of Prolonged Dry Weather, after East Anglia received only 37% of the long-term average rainfall over the past three months.

3              On Midsummer’s Day in 2021, Friends of the River Cam made the first public declaration in the UK of the rights of the River at Jesus Green, linked to the Universal Declaration of River Rights: https://www.rightsofrivers.org

4              The declaration is repeated on Midsummer’s Day each year and is repeated in the text of this motion.

5              The declaration of rights is supported by many of our local environmental and community groups including CPRE, FeCRA, Cambridge Friends of the Earth, Save Honey Hill, Keep Waterbeach Rural, Friends of Logan’s Meadow, Friends of Cherry Hinton and Coldhams Brooks, and many others.

6              In 2023 Lewes District Council passed a Rights of Rivers Motion to protect the River Ouse in East Sussex. Momentum has been growing globally to extend legal rights to nature and in some cases specifically to rivers.

https://democracy.leweseastbourne.gov.uk/documents/s27490/Motion%20-%20Rights%20of%20the%20River.pdf

 

6       Councillors Toye-Scott and Nicmanis wish to thank the Friends of the River Cam and representatives from a number of local environmental groups for their help in putting this motion together. Any errors or omissions are of course our own.