Dozens of county, borough and district councillors from across Hampshire have urged the government to rethink plans to ease safeguards for chalk streams.

The Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust has joined forces with 215 councillors from around England in urging the government not to loosen protections.

The “powerful open letter” to Angela Rayner and Steve Reed comes amid concerns the government has shelved the Chalk Stream Recovery Pack aimed at safeguarding the globally significant habitats.

The move has cross-party support and features the names of many prominent councillors from East Hampshire, Hart, Winchester, Rushmoor and Basingstoke & Deane.

All want to see the government to strengthen, not lesson, protections for the UK’s chalk streams within planning policy, especially as Hampshire is home to many.

Mid-Hampshire and the Meon Valley is home to three of the best examples – the Meon, Itchen and Test, along with their tributaries – while their ecosystems are some of the rarest in the world.

Changes are being proposed in the forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill so Debbie Tann, chief executive of the HIOWWT, has welcomed the united front.

Mocatta and Boxall
Rob Mocatta and Ginny Boxall are among the many Hampshire and EHDC councillors who have signed the Hampshire & Iow Wildlife Trust’s open letter to Angela Rayner (EHDC)

She said: “It's incredibly encouraging to see local councillors putting party politics aside and coming together to protect our precious chalk streams.

“These rare and unique ecosystems, flowing through our counties, are among the most beautiful and biodiverse habitats in the world.

“But the future of chalk streams hangs in the balance. “Without specific, robust protections embedded into planning policy, we risk these irreplaceable and fragile habitats being damaged or even destroyed.”

Councillors Louise Bevan, Ginny Boxall, John Hutchinson, Roger Mullenger, Anthony Williams, David Podger, Emily Young, John Smart, Barbara Tansey and David Evans are among the EHDC contingent on the list.

Rob Mocatta and Debbie Curnow-Ford, who represent Petersfield Butser and Liphook, Headley and Grayshott on Hampshire County Council, respectively, have also signed the open letter alongside councillors that represent Alresford, the Meon Valley, Odiham, Crookham and Ewshot and parts of Aldershot.

Cllr Malcolm Wallace, who represents Central Meon Valley on Winchester City Council, believes more action is needed to protect chalk streams and their biodiversity with only 15 per cent in good health.

He said: “Eighty-five per cent of these precious habitats are found only in England.

“They contain are some of the most biodiverse and ecologically significant freshwater ecosystems in the world.

“The Meon River that runs through the heart of my division is one of those key chalk streams, but it is under threat. Whilst local volunteers are working hard to maintain this habitat, Government action is needed to protect and enhance these precious streams for future generations and to protect the rare biodiversity which depends on them.”

The HIOWWT argues that without greater protections for chalk streams, the government risks undermining its own legal targets for nature’s recovery in the Environment Act, alongside to its commitment to protect 30 per cent of inland waters for nature by 2030.

For more information about the Save Our Chalk Streams Campaign, visit hiwwt.org.uk.