Chalk streams: stronger protection for the Test and Loddon

Chalk streams like the River Test and the River Loddon are globally rare – and they’re under real pressure from pollution, over-abstraction and development.

Earlier this year, Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council backed a “Rights of Rivers” motion (led by an Independent councillor) to give these rivers much more weight in local decision‑making. The next step is practical: work with residents and partners to produce a local Declaration on the Rights of the River by spring 2026, and then use those principles to shape planning and policy (including the Local Plan).

Since then, other Hampshire councils have also backed similar motions – including for the River Itchen and its chalk stream tributaries.

That matters locally too: the Candover Brook feeds into the River Itchen, which then runs down to Winchester and Southampton. So work to protect the Itchen helps protect the wider chalk stream network we’re connected to.

If you spot pollution, low flows, or anything that doesn’t look right, please report it to the Environment Agency (24-hour hotline: 0800 80 70 60 or online at gov.uk/report-water-pollution) – and drop me a note too. Local eyes and local evidence really help.