£420,000 funding for chalk stream protection in Cambridgeshire - but is it ‘greenwashing’?

A £420,000 plan to carry out projects to support local chalk streams is part of the Combined Authority’s budget.

The money is for projects that make local chalk streams and the species they support more resilient, according to the authority.

The chalk aquifer which feeds these unique watercourses also supply the region’s drinking water and there are currently concerns it is being over-abstracted.

However, South Cambridgeshire’s Tory MP Anthony Browne called the plan a “greenwash”.

It was submitted by Greater Cambridge Shared Planning, a partnership between Liberal Democrat-run South Cambridgeshire District Council and Labour-led Cambridge City Council.

Mr Browne pointed out that council planners were also behind the Local Plan proposals for nearly 49,000 new homes in the region by 2041.

He said: “My delight that South Cambridgeshire District Council has finally started to consider the dire circumstances facing our chalk streams is matched only by the absurdity of their other plans that would drain those same streams dry.

“While a step in the right direction, this funding has only been sought to greenwash the council’s long-term plans to abstract thousands of tonnes more water from our local aquifer. The impact that tens of thousands of unsustainable new houses will have on our local waterways will be catastrophic. They are once again asking others to dig them out of an over-abstraction nightmare of their own creation.

“If they truly wanted to put our very rare, very beautiful, and very threatened streams first, they would take another look at their unsuitable plans.”

The plan now forms part of the Combined Authority’s budget, which was discussed and agreed by its board on January 26.

Additional checks such as value for money assurances must be passed.

Projects that have been proposed by the councils range from specified physical restoration, offering management advice to landowners and further feasibility work such as removal of weirs to aid fish passage.

Cllr Katie Thornburrow, executive councillor for planning policy and transport, Cambridge City Council, said: “The region’s chalk streams are a rare and precious part of our natural environment and support a vast range of species, including brown trout and water voles. The recent Chalk Streams Project report highlights that almost all chalk streams are degraded and the course of the rivers have changed, but does outline a large number of ways that they can be restored, enhanced and protected.

“Thanks to this funding we will be able to deliver a wide range of projects, working with local people and landowners to keep the chalk streams for future generations. We should also remember that we can all make a difference by using as little water as possible.”

Cllr Dr Tumi Hawkins, lead cabinet member for planning at South Cambridgeshire District Council, said: “I have long been saying that our local chalk streams are incredibly precious. They need our help. The projects that will come forward as a result of this funding will help many different people work together to restore and protect them. Our work to plan for the future of Greater Cambridge via our emerging Local Plan, which places climate change firmly at its core, is entirely reliant on ensuring that adequate water supplies are available and the environment is protected. I’m looking forward to seeing projects made possible by this funding come forward.”

The mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Dr Nik Johnson, welcomed the move: “Chalk streams are a vital component of the ecosystem unique to our beautiful region. These water courses provide a haven to many of our most beloved native species such as the otter, kingfisher and water vole. Furthermore, they are an important element in purifying the very water that keeps us healthy. Making these improvements to preserve these streams is therefore a legacy to the future. By supporting schemes like this we are delivering on our commitment to doubling nature and the protection of our fragile ecosystem.”

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