Purpose

Approve the executive’s response to the
‘Charter for the River Wye’ motion approved at the
Meeting of Council held on Friday 5 December 2025

Decision

That:

a)   
Herefordshire Council consider the principles of the Charter for
the River Wye wherever relevant in decision making processes,
reviewing the opportunities for integration alongside policy and
strategy updates;
 

b)   
Herefordshire Council reflects the intrinsic value of the River
Wye and its tributaries within the new Local Plan, currently being
drafted, utilizing the Charter for the River Wye as a reference
document in framing ambitions regarding Herefordshire’s
rivers;
 

c)   
Herefordshire Council recognise the priorities relating to
freshwater habitats stated in the Local Nature Recovery Strategy,
including those to safeguard against pollution, restore and
reconnect wetland habitats, and restore hydrological functions at a
catchment scale, as well as the commitment in the Herefordshire
Council Plan 2024 - 2028 to ‘do everything we can to recover
the health of our rivers’;
 

d)   
Herefordshire Council support neighbouring authorities in their
will to champion the Charter, toward a holistic, cross border and
catchment-wide acknowledgement of the intrinsic value of the River
Wye and its tributaries, and to publicise the collective
response.
 
 

Alternative options considered

1.             
None proposed. It is a Constitutional requirement
that all motions by Council are referred to Cabinet