Rite of Passage

UK RIVER AWARDED SPECIAL LEGAL STATUS

In a historic first, a cherished river in Sussex has become the first river in the UK to have its fundamental rights recognised by a local authority. The River Ouse is a beautiful network of miles of rivers, streams and brooks which collect water from all over the surrounding Sussex countryside. Lewes District Council has endorsed a Charter of Rights, co-developed with local partners, which include 'a recognition that the river should have the right to be free from pollution, is essential for ensuring life, including human life, and has a right to native biodiversity'.

The decision, following a council motion in 2023 that agreed the development of a Declaration on the Rights of the river, comes as part of the growing Rights of Rivers movement in the UK & is a much-needed resolve in recognising rivers as living entities with a right to be protected, especially amidst England's water pollution crisis where many rivers are inundated with sewage.

"This is a historic moment for environmental protection in England," . said Emma Montlake, co-director of the Environmental Law Foundation, about the announcement on 27th February 2025. "By supporting the rights of rivers, Lewes district council has set a precedent that could transform the way we safeguard our rivers."

Councillor Emily O'Brien, Cabinet Member for Nature, Climate & Food Systems at Lewes District Council, said: "This pioneering Charter is the result of collaboration involving numerous working partners, each with a shared purpose and determination to enshrine the importance of the River Ouse for generations to come."

The river, which rises near Lower Beeding in West Sussex, and flows eastwards and then southwards, passes through a gap in the south Downs at Lewes and out into the wide Ouse Valley before reaching the sea at the south coast port of Newhaven has many supporters. Lewes District Council has already been working for a number of years with other local partners to make the landscape in the Ouse catchment more resilient and together with the Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust they helped restore the Cockshut chalk stream and the creation of six hectares of wetland.

As the Charter also recognises the health of the river catchment and all the ecosystems and wildlife that exist within it, they also support the Wilder Ouse programme that deliver nature-based solutions to create a Nature Recovery Network. Hosted by the Sussex Wildlife Trust, this involves a small team of experts working with communities and landowners to help people and wildlife by restoring ecological connectivity, ecosystem function and building climate resilience.

Henri Brocklebank from Sussex Wildlife Trust said, "We are very proud that the first river in the UK to be recognised in its own right is here in Sussex. Our rivers need all the support they can get and this is a great step forward."

This decision could potentially pave the way for other rivers in the UK to be granted similar legal rights and protection.

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Footnote: The University of Sussex has just announced that it is launching the UK's first undergraduate degree in 'Climate justice, Sustainability and Development' which will begin in 2026. Combining climate politics, activism, and environmental human rights, with practical green skills, course convenor Paul Gilbert said the degree will not only provide students "with the tools for investigating what is happening and why, but will also help to drive change in the world."