River Loddon Charter

By adopting the following Charter, Old Basing & Lychpit Parish Council commits to:

• Using these principles to guide local policy, consultation responses, and decision-making.
• Encouraging partner organisations to endorse and support the Charter.
• Supporting practical, evidence-based action to improve the river’s ecological and chemical health.
• Strengthening the enjoyment and value of the Loddon for current and future generations.

This Charter provides a clear, locally led framework of principles to guide and strengthen future action for the River Loddon — the river at the heart of our parish.

CHARTER FOR THE RIVER LODDON

Adopted as a Statement of Support by Old Basing & Lychpit Parish Council as the founding signatory.

Humans depend on our rivers to provide clean water for drinking and sanitation, fertile soil, and regeneration. Rivers support an extensive diversity of species and ecosystems and play a vital role in the functioning of the Earth’s continuous water cycle. Rivers are also one of the largest natural carbon-transport systems on our planet, moving land-based carbon to be stored in the oceans and providing temperature regulation functions.

The River Loddon is a defining natural artery of Old Basing & Lychpit. It shapes the character of our parish, supports our wellbeing, sustains wildlife, enriches our landscape, and connects our community to the wider Loddon catchment. Its health is inseparable from the health of the land, habitats, and aquifers that surround it.

Yet, like many English rivers, the Loddon faces significant pressures: climate change, pollution from multiple sources, unsustainable abstraction, invasive species, ageing or unsuitable infrastructure, and development that can disrupt natural processes. These pressures threaten both the river’s ecological resilience and the quality of life for the communities along its course.

Old Basing & Lychpit Parish Council recognises that many organisations, volunteers, farmers, landowners, and residents already work hard to protect and improve the Loddon. This Charter does not replicate their work but provides a shared framework of principles to guide and strengthen future action.

Although Old Basing & Lychpit Parish Council does not own, control, or hold responsibility for the River Loddin or its management, it may, where appropriate and within its powers, support organisations, authorities, landowners, and community groups working to protect and enhance the River Loddon and its surroundings. By adopting this Charter, the Parish Council acts as its founding member and may use the principles set out within it to guide its own decision‑making, while encouraging local and regional partners to do the same. Other organisations are warmly invited to align themselves with these principles, though the Charter stands independently as a clear expression of the Parish Council’s support for the long‑term wellbeing of the River Loddon.

In this context, the Parish Council may also, where relevant, seek to ensure that the health of the River Loddon is considered in planning, land‑use, environmental policy, and infrastructure matters, and may advocate for wider frameworks that give rivers meaningful representation in decision‑making—always within the limits of the Parish Council’s powers and without assuming responsibility for the River’s management or condition.

Principles for the Protection and Stewardship of the River Loddon

This Statement sets out a series of non‑binding principles that Old Basing & Lychpit Parish Council may reference when considering matters related to the River Loddon. These principles do not create any legal duties, liabilities, or obligations for the Parish Council.

Old Basing & Lychpit Parish Council undertakes to support the upholding of the following rights on behalf of the River Loddon:

1. The Right to Flow – to follow natural flow patterns, free from over-abstraction and excessive diversion, supporting wildlife and downstream ecosystems.

2. The Right to Perform Essential Functions within its Ecosystem – to sustain the hydrological and ecological processes that underpin the health of the waterways and landscape.

3. The Right to be Free from Pollution – to raise awareness of the need to prevent and reduc pollution from all sources - including sewage discharges, agricultural run-off, chemicals, plastics, pharmaceuticals, soil erosion, and litter - recognising that climate change may intensify these pressures.

4. The Right to Feed and Be Fed by Sustainable Aquifers – to support initiatives by relevant agencies that maintain sustainable interactions between the river and groundwater systems, without unsustainable depletion, especially during dry periods.

5. The Right to Native Biodiversity – to support the recovery of native wildlife and habitats along the Loddon corridor and support efforts to limit the spread of invasive non-native species that threaten ecological balance.

6. The Right to Regeneration and Restoration – to support or encourage efforts by the relevant authorities, landowners, and environmental organisations to enable the river to recover from damage. This may include expressing support for recognised best‑practice across the catchment—such as wetland enhancement, improved fish passage, re‑naturalised banks, and land‑management approaches that reduce pollution and restore soils.

7. The Right to Active Representation – to be represented and considered in matters which directly affect waterways, for example in planning, policy, and management decisions affecting its future, reflecting the communities interest in the rivers long-term health.

Adoption Statement

This Charter for the River Loddon was formally adopted by Old Basing & Lychpit Parish Council at its meeting on 3^rd March 2026, establishing the Parish Council as the founding signatory.

The Council invites local authorities, community groups, landowners, statutory bodies, and organisations across the Loddon catchment to support and adopt this Charter and its principles.