A diverse group of walkers, councillors and environmental activists gathered on a sunny Sunday at Bath’s Parade Gardens to endorse the Avon bioregional charter of river rights (ABCRR). The event, which took place on World Rivers Day, crowned a year‑long pilgrimage that traced the river from its source at Joyce’s Pool to the sea, covering roughly 100 miles over eight days. Along the route the walkers planted trees, sowed seeds, repaired footpaths and handed a draft charter to local decision‑makers. The signing represents a milestone for a growing movement that seeks to give rivers legal standing and a stronger voice in governance.
A historic pilgrimage awakens a river’s voice
In the spring of last year, twelve people set off in the morning drizzle at Joyce’s Pool, one of the Avon’s headwaters. Over eight days they trekked about 100 miles, a rotating group of pilgrims who sometimes camped beside the water at night. Their journey was more than a walk; it was a statement. “The reception was so good across political parties and interest groups,” recalls Hamish Evans, who co‑founded We Are Avon, the group that organised the trek and is now building a broader bioregional movement for the Avon. “It felt inevitable that we would one day achieve better rights and representation for this river.”
The walkers left a tangible mark on the landscape. They planted saplings, scattered seeds, repaired eroded footpaths and presented a fledgling charter to councillors and other officials. The document, crafted by the Bristol‑based campaign group Conham Bathing, outlined a series of rights for the river – to exist, thrive, evolve naturally, flow sustainably, remain free of pollution, preserve biodiversity, aim for regeneration, foster community connection and advocate for its own interests. The charter’s language echoed similar initiatives that have sprung up across the UK, but its scope and the number of endorsing councils were unprecedented.
The charter that puts the Avon on a new legal footing
On World Rivers Day the draft became official when a crowd of councillors, environmental organisations, river guardians and members of the public gathered at Parade Gardens in Bath. They signed the Avon bioregional charter of river rights, a document that enshrines the river’s rights in a clear moral framework. Nine councils have already backed the charter, including Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol City and North Somerset, which adopted it under a motion for the ocean. More authorities are expected to follow, reflecting a growing appetite for nature‑centred governance.
Josh Levene, a founder of the UK River Rights Network, describes the best charters as “social contracts between humans and the river”. He notes that integration with existing institutions such as councils and catchment partnerships strengthens their impact. Through the charter campaign, We Are Avon has convened cross‑council workshops that explore bioregional river governance for the first time, improving communication between councils, Wessex Water and the West of England combined authority.
Individual councils have begun to translate the charter into action. B&NES has appointed a river advocate to represent the Avon’s interests, and Councillor Oli Henman says the charter “allows us to embed some of those principles into our [climate and nature] strategy”, due in early 2027. Although the Bristol Avon catchment partnership has not formally endorsed the charter, it is collaborating with We Are Avon. Henman adds that the charter “is really about re‑energising, stepping up ambition, expanding that partnership”.
Building a grassroots movement for river rights
We Are Avon’s approach is deliberately bottom‑up. The group does not want to wait for top‑down guidance; instead, it is creating its own table. “We want to keep the pressure on councils, but don’t want to wait for that,” says Evans. This means expanding the movement and empowering local actors to implement the charter’s principles without waiting for official direction.
The organisation works with a network of 18 Avon guardian groups that monitor water quality, pick up litter and maintain a relationship with their local tributary or section of the river. Meg Avon, a campaigner who “married” the Avon in 2023 to highlight pollution, says these groups are already seeing a shift in community attitudes. “We’re already starting to shift cultural consciousness into acknowledging that rivers are alive and subjects worthy of rights,” she says. “People are willing to go wading in shit because they get so much joy out of walking with us.”
We Are Avon also convenes farm clusters to share regenerative practices and is preparing a campaign to acquire a community‑owned hub that will demonstrate sustainable land management. “If the community doesn’t have more autonomy over those things, the issues will perpetuate,” Evans explains. The movement’s aim is to give people agency – something that charters can provide. “Charters give people hope, which is in short supply,” Levene notes. “They give people a sense of what they feel they’ve been missing for a long time – agency.”
Legal experts caution that charters alone do not change the law. Paul Powlesland, a co‑founder of Lawyers for Nature, says, “River rights charters are an amazing way to begin changing our attitude towards rivers, but they don’t change the law by themselves. Most important is what comes next. The Avon is lucky to have an amazing community of river guardians and supportive councils who can begin to make these rights a practical reality.”
Why it Matters
The Avon’s charter is more than a symbolic promise; it is a practical blueprint for how communities can reclaim agency over the water that sustains them. By embedding river rights into local governance, the charter creates a moral compass that can guide policy, inspire stewardship and hold institutions to account. If the model proves successful, it could be replicated across the UK, offering a template for how rivers can be treated not as resources to be exploited, but as living entities deserving of legal recognition and protection. The movement’s emphasis on grassroots empowerment ensures that the fight for a healthier river is not left to distant bureaucracies, but is rooted in the daily actions of those who walk its banks, tend its banks and drink from its waters. In a time of deepening environmental crises, the Avon’s charter shows that hope, community and legal ambition can converge to forge a more resilient relationship between people and the natural world.
