The Full Council meeting at Wealden District Council on Wednesday, 22 November 2023 saw the Labour and Co-operative motion proposed by Councillor Ben Cox pass with no opposition.

Councillor Cox’s motion aims to kickstart river regeneration in Wealden by developing policies for healthy rivers, building a closer relationship between the Council and the Environment Agency, and educating river users and the public on keeping rivers clean. It gives the Council a vision for cleaning up local rivers and a mechanism to monitor silt run-off and pollution.

The motion was seconded by Councillor Daniel Manvell, who made the points that 30% of the rivers and water bodies in and around Wealden are in poor or bad condition, above the national average of 20%, and that only one, Arlington Reservoir, is rated ‘good’ by the Environment Agency. He also stated that the government’s chronic underfunding of the Environment Agency has only worsened this situation, having halved its environmental protection budget since 2010.

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You can read the full text of Councillor Cox’s motion here (item 13)

Local media coverage: Bournefreelive – Councillors pledge to clean up Wealden rivers