Local campaigner welcomes new parliamentary group but warns action is needed now
"We need real and full protection for these chalk streams now, from source to end," Mark Dye tells me, who's one of the co-founders of action group Gaywood River Revival.
Since 2022, it's been campaigning to protect and restore the rare chalk stream which flows from near Derby Fen into King's Lynn.
I ask what he thinks about the new All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), which aims to conserve one of England’s rarest natural habitats.
Mark Dye, thinks it's a 'step in the right direction'.
"These globally rare ecosystems are a matter of national importance. When it's free from political point scoring, that's key, because it means they can debate and move forward together and hopefully put things towards parliament."
Mark Dye by Gaywood River
"Here in Norfolk I personally believe we need to move more quickly in offering real protection for our chalk rivers," he continues.
"For instance, there are parts of the Gaywood and its headwaters which are up in Grimston, that are identified as having pristine chalk stream ecology, which are labelled as drains, that's fundamentally wrong, and part of the problem that allows them to be continually mistreated.
"Why have a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) downstream at Derby Fen and fail to protect the headwater and spring sources. What we say matters. And the lack of proper classification leaves them unprotected."
Gaywood River near watery lane (left) compared to King's Lynn (right), showing the impact of pollution. Credit: Peter Clitheroe
Currently, only 11 of Britain’s 220 chalk streams have any form of legal protection. The spring-fed waterways provide a home for wild brown trout, water voles, and unique water plants.
MP James Wild, who has been advocating greater safeguarding, is a member of the new APPG.
“Norfolk is home to some of the finest chalk streams in the world," he says, "Including the Nar, Gaywood, Babingley, Heacham and Ingol, and as a county we have a special responsibility to protect and enhance them.
“These are globally rare habitats; England holds around 85% of the world’s chalk streams, and Norfolk alone accounts for around 15% of that total, making ours some of the most important anywhere."
Members of the new APPG on Chalk Streams, MP James Wild second from right
The APPG is campaigning to secure stronger legal protections through the forthcoming Clean Water Bill, that it plans to raise political awareness, shape policy, and promote their recovery.
Mr Wild says there needs to be a multi agency approach, "As the forthcoming Water Bill is developed, there is an important opportunity to move beyond piecemeal protection and towards a more coherent, catchment-based approach that brings together water companies, farmers, landowners and regulators to deliver genuine improvements for these rivers, here in Norfolk and across the country.”
Campaigner Mark Dye thinks we should all be worried about our chalk streams, and ends by telling me, "Their rarity and their environmental significance needs to be protected - now."