Minister visit to discuss Hampshire rivers (From Daily Echo)
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Minister visit to discuss Hampshire rivers
11:50am Wednesday 5th December 2012 in News
Richard Benyon.
THE Environment and Fisheries Minister is coming to Hampshire for a meeting to address the plight of some of its most famous rivers.
Richard Benyon, pictured, will be at the special summit set up to discuss the future of English chalkstreams including the Itchen, Test and Avon.
The meeting, at the Grosvenor Hotel, in Stockbridge on Monday, runs from 9.30am to 1pm. It is seeking to raise awareness among MPs and ministers of the special status of chalkstreams in England and of the threats to their environment and biodiversity.
Some will be asking for them to be given special protection, possibly within the current Water Bill, and for a radical reform of water resources and land use policy.
The Chalkstream Summit is the brainchild of Hampshire MP George Hollingbery, a keen fisherman who chairs the All Party Angling Group, and is being organised by the Angling Trust.
The summit will be attended by MPs, fishery owners, river keepers, county councils and environmental campaigners from all over the country.
