Danny Kruger: We must protect England’s extraordinary chalk streams

Only a few hundred chalk streams are known to exist in the world, and England is home to 85 per cent of them. These globally rare and environmentally precious rivers are not just attractive natural features; they are part of our national inheritance. As their custodians, we conservatives have a solemn duty to protect these extraordinary habitats for generations to come.

Only 11 of England’s 220 chalk streams currently enjoy legal protection as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), yet the pressures on them are growing. Removing water from this natural source – in order to meet our growing demand for water – remains one of the greatest threats to these streams.

Worse still, the government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which promises to build homes and restore nature, risks exacerbating the threats to our chalk streams. By pushing through more development without ensuring these irreplaceable habitats are legally protected, or announcing any new water management projects, Labour’s approach threatens to put even more pressure on our most fragile freshwater ecosystems.

Without new reservoirs or viable alternatives, over-abstraction will continue to bleed these habitats dry. That is why I tabled an amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill which would have given more of our chalk streams the legal protections they so urgently need.

Protections, such as SSSIs, mean that the owners of chalk streams must manage their sites appropriately to conserve its special features. Requiring the government to make plans to protect more chalk streams is, therefore, a simple, responsible measure to ensure that essential development does not come at the cost of our national and irreplaceable heritage.

Formed by ancient chalk aquifers that are over 60 million years old, chalk streams filter and store rainwater, delivering crystal-clear, nutrient-rich flows that sustain some of the most biodiverse habitats in the country. When healthy, they brim with brown trout, kingfishers, and dragonflies, all supported by a delicate ecology that cannot be replaced once lost.

Chalk streams are not just ecologically important. They are woven into our cultural fabric, too. From the pages of Jane Austen to the canvases of John Constable, they have long inspired the image of England. They are a living testament of what we conserve – not just things, but meaning – identity, beauty, and permanence.

As Conservatives, we understand that true environmentalism is rooted in stewardship: a long-term, practical commitment to care for what we have inherited. That’s why, in government, we took real action to protect these precious habitats. We included chalk streams in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, ensuring that they are considered in all future environmental assessments. We delivered targeted investment through our Plan for Water, and created the Water Restoration Fund, which redirected water company fines for poor performance into local restoration efforts.

We also developed a detailed, expert-led Chalk Stream Recovery Pack, providing a practical blueprint to restore and protect these habitats. This was ready for publication but the timing of the general election unfortunately meant it was never published. Labour scrapped this work as soon as they entered government, along with other vital programmes that will protect Britain’s waterways, such as the Water Restoration Fund and the River Wye Action Plan, which has now seen a shocking 97 per cent funding cut.

A thriving natural environment is not a luxury or an afterthought, it is a cornerstone of England. While our site designation system is by no means perfect, to legally protect more chalk streams is the least we can do for them as pressures on them continue to mount. My amendment is a practical, principled approach, rooted in a conservative respect for permanent and precious things. It is a duty we owe, to our ancestors who cherished these streams and to our children who will inherit them, to protect more of them today. As this bill heads to the House of Lords, I hope their lordships will recognise the need to protect our chalk streams and take on this amendment themselves.