Rivers can sue people, council rules
Test Valley borough council in Hampshire has voted unanimously to recognise the river as an independent legal entity to protect the waterway from sewage overflows, pollution and over-extraction.
As a result, the river has the right to sue a person or company responsible for damaging its quality and infringing on its right to 'flow unimpeded'.
The chalk stream, known for being the birthplace of fly fishing and its appearance in the novel Watership Down, has been granted the right to be 'free from pollution', as well as be fed by freshwater sources.
The vote has also recognised the need for the restoration of ecological integrity and regeneration from environmental harm. The move also embeds the rights of the river in planning, development and biodiversity policies.
'Wonderful bounty of nature'
The council voted in favour of Cllr Geoff Cooper's motion to recognise the rights of the river.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Cooper said: 'What this motion tries to do is set out protections for our rivers and waterways, it is not just about pointing your fingers at the water company, it is all the factors that endanger our rivers.'
Large sections of the waterway, which runs from Ashe 40 miles south to the tidal estuary of Southampton Water, are sites of special scientific interest with over 100 types of plant along its banks and more than 200 animal species in and around it.
The main species found in the river are endangered Atlantic salmon, trout, kingfisher, grey wagtail and little grebe birds.
However, salmon numbers have plummeted dramatically in recent years from 906 fish returning from the sea in 2019 to just 346 last year.
Cllr Janet Burnage, a fellow Lib Dem, added: 'Without the River Test, its tributaries and all the other rivers that flow through Test Valley, we would not have the wonderful bounty of nature around us.
'We must maintain the rivers for the sake of the natural environment.'
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