Council champions ‘pioneering’ Rights of River Charter to protect ‘landmark waterway’ in East Sussex

The council announced on Wednesday, February 26, that the Charter has been co-developed with Love Our Ouse and other local partners.

It follows a Motion at Full Council in 2023 that agreed the development of a Declaration on the Rights of the River Ouse.

The council said the eight new rights include a recognition that the River Ouse should have the right to be free from pollution, is essential for ensuring life, including human life, and has a right to native biodiversity.

Emily O’Brien, Cabinet Member for Nature, Climate & Food Systems at Lewes District Council, worked to further the principles of the Charter. She said: “It is a very proud moment for me and many others to celebrate this charter for a landmark waterway that has such resonance and influence in Lewes district, and I hope that our council’s support will mark another step on the journey to change the conversation, so that one day a change in the law will mean the interests of nature are fully recognised.”

Love our Ouse, a Community Interest Company, said the Charter provides ‘a visionary framework’ that reflects the river’s ‘essential needs’ for being healthy, as well as local communities’ ‘highest aspirations for it’. The group said the Charter articulates the river’s rights alongside people’s duty of care and responsibility to uphold them.

Love Our Ouse director Matthew Bird said: “This is a momentous moment for the river and goes some way towards recognising that the river is an entity in its own right and that its voice needs to be represented in decisions which affect it. The river faces numerous challenges including pollution, climate change, over use and development. The Charter provides a common framework through which to address these challenges which we hope the other major stakeholders on the Ouse will feel able to endorse.”

The Environmental Law Foundation (ELF) also welcomed the decision as ‘exciting and groundbreaking’ with ELF co-director Emma Montlake calling it ‘a historic moment’ for environmental protection in England.

Emma said: “By supporting the Rights of Rivers, Lewes District Council has set a precedent that could transform the way we safeguard our rivers. The River Ouse is an essential part of the region’s ecosystem and cultural heritage – this decision ensures a better future for the River’s health and protection.”

A Charter steering group was set up with participation from Lewes District Council, Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust, The Railway Land Wildlife Trust and Sussex Wildlife Trust. The Southwood Foundation has been co-creating the Charter alongside communities and key stakeholders over the past two years. The ELF said it played a key role role in assisting Love Our Ouse to advance the Charter and collaborated with stakeholders, LDC and the Trusts.

Emma said: “It has been a fascinating journey working with the River Rights steering group to bring the Ouse rights charter into being. Having the confidence of legal oversight of an erstwhile band from Hogan Lovells and that of Monica Feria Tinta. So many have played a role. The Charter as it now exists, to be defended and promoted by the Council, marks a new chapter for the Ouse’s ecological health and its own river governance.”

Peter King, director of the Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust, said: “Congratulations must go to Love Our Ouse for directing this effort and to all those involved in the process, moving river health even higher up the local agenda can only be good for all those who live and work in this amazing landscape.”