Following growing public concern about the health of chalk streams in the UK an All-Party Parliamentary Group has been formed, with the inaugural meeting held today (15 September).
The cross-party group has been formed by two MPs from Hertfordshire whose constituencies straddle several chalk streams, Charles Walker of Broxbourne, and Oliver Heald of North East Hertfordshire. Within Hertfordshire there are the rivers Beane, Mimram, Lea, Misbourne, Gade, Ver and Bulbourne.
Environment minister Rebecca Pow separately announced a chalk stream summit that will take place in October following a roundtable with water company chief executives. The summit will address flow rate, water quality and sustainable abstraction from the streams.
Around 80 per cent of the world’s richly biodiverse chalk streams are found in England. The Environment Agency has been working with water companies to protect the streams by reducing the amount of water abstracted.
Public interest in chalk streams has grown in part due to Undertones-frontman-turned-activist Feargal Sharkey, who has called out the work of the Environment Agency and water companies for polluting watercourses on Twitter and a recent BBC show about fishing in the River Lea.