Chalk streams should be recognised as Unesco World Heritage Site, MP says
The MP for South Cambridgeshire introduced her 10-minute rule Bill to the Commons
Last updated 25th Feb 2026
An MP has called for greater protections for what she described as the UK's equivalent of the Great Barrier Reef.
Chalk streams should be recognised as a Unesco Natural World Heritage Site, Liberal Democrat Pippa Heylings said as she urged the Government to support her draft law.
Introducing her 10-minute rule Bill to the Commons, the MP for South Cambridgeshire said chalk streams are currently being "drained dry".
Speaking in the chamber, Ms Heylings said: "My Bill concerns a rare natural resource of universal value.
"We in the UK are custodians of 85% of the world's chalk streams, our equivalent of the Great Barrier Reef - timeless jewels of our natural heritage.
"And yet we are allowing them to be drained dry and to have raw sewage dumped on them by water companies that put people before profit and the planet.
"My Bill ensures we finally get chalk streams the same reverence and protections that we give to our greatest cathedrals or monuments.
"Our streams and rivers are just as much a part of our national identity and international significance."
She pointed to Sir David Attenborough as a champion of chalk streams, telling MPs "we have a responsibility to act" as his 100th birthday approaches.
"It's a global responsibility handed to us by the rocks beneath our feet.
"So let's embrace it, celebrate it. Let's be the global custodians of our very own equivalent of the Galapagos Islands, the Great Barrier Reef, the rainforest," she added.
The proposed legislation brought forward by Ms Heylings passed its first reading on Wednesday but it is unlikely to become law without Government support.