Rights of the River Motion

On 16th July 2026 Cambridge City Council declared the rights of the river Cam in a motion which originated with Green Party councillors and was amended by Labour and Liberal Democrats. The declaration followed the practice of Friends of the Cam who have declared the rights of the Cam, at 6pm each midsummer’s evening, with a community of hundreds, at its annual river rights festival. The action of the Council in repeating our practice, involved a solemn undertaking. Declaring the rights of our troubled river, like expressing concern for human rights violations, entails a commitment to see them respected. It will mean far-reaching changes in policies which up to now have allowed a year-on-year worsening of the condition of the Cam.

Below we reprint a letter published in the Cambridge Independent (5th July, 2067) written by Susan Buckingham and Tony Booth following the passing of the river rights motion by the City Council. 

"Dear Editor,

Your newspaper has recently captured the conflict between the speed and scale of growth to be accelerated by the Greater Cambridge Development Corporation which was finally approved by Parliament in July, and the inability of the regional environment to support this growth. Headlines about farm fires, hosepipe bans as streams dry up, and overheating homes accentuate the reality of the impact of intensifying heat and drought. Just as the Environment Agency declared half of England, including East Anglia, to be in drought status, the Cam was reported as having ‘exceptionally low flow’. Households and public facilities will likely bear the brunt of water shortages in the future, as data/AI centres have recently been granted the opportunity to apply for the status of ‘nationally significant infrastructure’ which will protect their operational resources.

This is the context for the Rights of the River motion ('Demands for Better Protection of Rivers', CI July 22), introduced by the Green Party, and passed by the City Council in July. However, through amendments, the implications of the scale of growth for the river was effectively ignored. The amendments replaced the commitment to be proactive in favour of 'business as usual'.

These are dire times, which are not going to improve without radical change. We can expect more drought, more heat, more fires. New reservoirs need to be filled and it is uncertain where the water will come from: Anglian Water has been requested to supply further information about water supply before planning for the Fens reservoir can proceed. Grafham Water, a transfer from which is expected to supply greater Cambridge ahead of the Fens Reservoir completion by 2036 at the earliest, is currently well below capacity and also in a declared drought region.

If the River Rights motion is to make any difference and not be seen as greenwashing it must be used determinedly to challenge growth agendas enthusiastically promoted by the City, County and South Cambs Councils, the Cambridge Growth Company, the Greater Cambridge Development Corporation, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Cambridge University, and Cambridge Ahead. It must be taken seriously on all seven grounds which are laid out in the Friends of the Cam's declaration of river rights, which forms the basis of the motion:

To flow freely and not be over abstracted;

To perform essential functions of flooding, moving sediment, recharging groundwater and sustaining biodiversity;

To be free from pollution;

To feed and be fed from sustainable aquifers;

To sustain native biodiversity;

To restoration;

To maintain connections with other streams and rivers.

With best wishes,

Susan Buckingham and Tony Booth

Friends of the Cam"