Kit urges stronger planning protection for chalk streams

Kit Malthouse MP has called on the government to give our precious chalk streams the strongest protection available under national planning policy.

He has co-signed a letter to the Housing Minister urging the Government to recognise chalk streams as “irreplaceable habitats” in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

Kit has long campaigned for greater protection for chalk streams, including the River Test, one of only around 200 chalk streams in the world.

Around 85 per cent of the world’s chalk streams are found in England. Their unique geology produces the cool, clear water which supports an extraordinary range of wildlife, including water voles and Atlantic salmon. 

Despite their rarity, chalk streams are not currently included in the NPPF’s list of irreplaceable habitats.

The letter argues that chalk streams meet the Government’s own criteria for inclusion — and asks ministers to explain why they have been left off the list.

Kit said:

“Anyone who has walked beside the River Test on a bright morning knows just how lucky we are to have this extraordinary habitat running through our part of the world.

“But chalk streams aren’t just beautiful, they are globally rare. They’re rarer than rainforest or coral reef, and we in England have a particular responsibility to protect them because 85 per cent of the world’s chalk streams are here.

“They are also incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to recreate once they are lost. Their crystal-clear water, geology, gravel beds and wildlife have developed together over thousands of years. Once we damage them, we cannot simply build another one somewhere else.

“That’s why it makes no sense for national planning policy to recognise ancient woodland, blanket bog and salt marsh as irreplaceable habitats, but not chalk streams.

“I’ve championed our chalk streams for years, and I want to know that the River Test and others like it will still be flowing clean and clear through our valleys for generations to come.

“The Government now has an opportunity to give these precious rivers the protection they deserve. I hope ministers will listen.”