Last night at the Southbank Centre in London, Sir Oliver Heald launched a WWF/Coca Cola Report into the condition of England’s chalk streams. There are seven such streams in his North East Herts constituency: the Ivel, the Upper Rhee, the Ash, the Rib, the Quin, the Beane, and the Mimram. Oliver has campaigned with WWF, the Angling Trust, and local groups - the Friends of the Mimram and the River Beane Restoration Association - since 2008 for improvements to river quality on the Beane and the Mimram, which have been stressed for some years.
Oliver has held a debate in the House and tabled an emergency motion, with 125 MPs supporting it, to highlight the issue. He has worked with the Environment Agency, the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, the County Council, and local water company Affinity, and has lobbied OFWAT.
OFWAT have recently signed off a plan to cut abstraction of water from White Hall pumping station near Watton-at-Stone and Fulling Mill at Welwyn, which will see the rivers Beane and Mimram flowing well again. Oliver also features in an award winning film on the subject produced by the River Beane Restoration Association.
Commenting Oliver said: “I was delighted and honoured to launch the latest WWF/Coca Cola report into the poor state of our chalk streams nationally. Local campaigners in my constituency have shown what can be done by local people to save their much loved rivers. The Government has done much, but there is more to do. The fight goes on.”
The report is at http://assets.wwf.org.uk/downloads/wwf_chalkstreamreport_final_lr.pdf?_ga=1.185705961.192716140.1416991471
The local groups were at the launch and were applauded for their campaign.
Follow Sir Oliver on Twitter at www.twitter.com/OliverHealdMP
Read his blog at www.oliverheald.wordpress.com