Thoughts from the train after the launch in parliament of the 'Making Space for Water' Campaign
Fiona Bowles (RRC Vice-Chair)
This campaign was developed by the Riverscapes Partnership, which comprises four Trusts - Wildlife, Rivers, Beaver Trust and the National Trust, and was funded by them. It very much aligns with the 2023 RRC Conference Consensus that physical restoration is the forgotten arm of restoring UK rivers but critical to its success. Not being in a lobbying organisation, this is something that RRC is not usually involved with, but it falls squarely in our mission so we approached the partners and offered our services as a technical adviser. I was particularly keen to see how these things work, being outside of my experience too. The aim was to develop a UK wide campaign, starting in England and aiming to expand to the devolved nations.
A challenge was getting partners to agree on the specific ‘ask’ of government. A Making Space for Water policy was launched in 2005 and although there have been some agriculture funds available, these were initially limited to uplands. The partnership is now asking for a public commitment from the Government to create a network of connected, nature-rich, multi-functional river corridors including river buffers, riparian tree planting, wet woodland and wetland initiatives all delivered at scale - making space for water. The particular ask is for targeted funding for landowners with an emphasis on helping landowners deliver for nature themselves, rather than just advocating for the removal of agricultural land from production, and sign up was achieved with farming groups like the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT).
Next steps were
Step 3 was the most difficult, and Tessa Wardley (Rivers Trust) and the RRC used the 2025 conference to introduce the project and to ask for views from our river restoration audience. A key question is how much space is needed; a 5m,10m or variable corridor for a river? I had looked for overseas examples, many of which were for the forestry industry in the USA, as well as European farm limits. It was not fully resolved. The word ‘buffers' was also particularly contentious, being associated with no-spray zones in many people’s minds rather than space for rivers to move within, but in the end it was used on the basis that the word is familiar to the key landowner audience.
The campaign launch was developed by Seahorse Environmental in the House of Commons. It was well timed with DEFRA’s consultations on land use underway, and the Cunliffe Water Review responses just being reported. Case studies, a ‘frequently asked questions’ and the important house of commons event were developed by Seahorse staff, with the main partnership and communications working groups. A sponsor was needed to book a room, with the event on 16th June closely following a 'drop in' session for chalk rivers, also run by the Rivers Trusts and Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) on June 4th. My local MP stepped up, fresh from the first wild beaver release in March as a sponsor, and Minister Emma Hardy MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Water and Flooding attended, giving a very laudable talk on what rivers need. On the day, partners, other environmental organisations from The Countryside Charity (CPRE) to river paddlers, via investment specialists, came to support those MPs who dropped by for canapes and conversation. It felt a hectic session, with both familiar faces and total strangers, but no badges to help check out who I should be influencing. The Woodland Trust gave out tree samples though, which helped identify visitors en-route to the tube.
A petition was launched the same day and everyone is encouraged to join, encouraging further parliamentary debate and I will be interested to see what the effect of the lobbying is, and how the energy is spread to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Hopefully it will also influence DEFRA’s new Reforming our approach to floods funding consultation, so please respond to that too, with greening flood spending should be a significant opportunity for restoring resilience to rivers. The new £150,000 capital grant scheme for farmers includes NFM announced on the 3rd July may be a positive indication.