Liberal Democrat Council Call for Action to Clean-up Medway

4.30.32pm BST (GMT +0100) Sat 26th Sep 2009

Lib Dem Environment Campaigner Fran Smith with senior Lib Dem MP Simon Hughes MP

Maidstone Liberal Democrats have called for Maidstone Council to show leadership and address the sources of pollution affecting the River Medway. Liberal Democrat Councillors made the call at a meeting of the Borough Council on 23rd September. This was prompted by the shocking admission from the Environment Agency that the River Medway in Maidstone has been classified as being in "bad" condition in terms of ecological quality. They also reported it has scored a "fail" for its chemical quality. Though pollution within the River Medway is now less visually obvious than it was in the recent industrial past, contamination from waste water treatment plants, contaminated highway run-off, destructive water-side developments and agricultural practices is still severe.

In addition to the bad water quality within the River Medway our aquatic wildlife receives a double-whammy through the extreme level of modification to the river corridor. Ugly and inhospitable canalisation, with sheer concrete retaining walls, riverside urban cramming and barriers to wildlife migration all contribute to the Medway's bottom of the league score for ecological quality. Depressingly, the Environment Agency's prediction for the River Medway in 2015 is for it to remain in "bad" ecological quality and to once again "fail" on chemical quality. The Liberal Democrats believe this admission of defeat is totally unacceptable and that Maidstone must fight for the investment and enlightened planning policies needed to rescue our river.

Maidstone Borough Council has trumpeted its commitment to restoring the Medway to a feature that we may all be proud of. It is therefore imperative that Maidstone Council shows real community leadership by assembling a coalition of partners to ensure effective protection and clean-up of the river. Council planners, highways chiefs, water companies and the Environment Agency all have a key role (as do residents and amenity groups) in delivering the ecological recovery of our River Medway.