71% of England's Riverbanks Lack Public Access
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- Right to Roam found 71% of riverbanks along main rivers and tributaries in 89 English river catchments lack any adjoining access or right of way within 100m of the water, a finding consistent whether urban areas are included or not.
- 96% of rivers in England and Wales have no defined statutory right to the water itself, meaning swimming and paddling are routinely contested by landowners, and most inland waters including reservoirs and lakes are treated as off limits.
- Angela Eagle, the new environment secretary, is being urged by campaigners to launch a promised but long-delayed consultation on access as part of an access-to-nature green paper and introduce a right of responsible access in the next King's Speech.
- Regional disparities are stark: the Severn Middle Shropshire catchment has 90% of riverbank with no right of access, while the New Forest catchment shows 49% — still a majority locked off.
- Keir Starmer's government committed to nine new national river walks, but researcher Lewis Winks said the first, on the River Mersey, had not created any additional access to the riverbank.
- Long-distance walking trails are named after rivers they cannot legally follow — the Severn Way between Shrewsbury and Telford diverts more than 800m from the river in places, and the majority of the 44-mile Test Way does not follow its chalk stream.
Why it matters: With 96% of English and Welsh rivers carrying no statutory right of access to the water itself, swimmers and paddlers remain exposed to landowner disputes, and the government's nine pledged river walks have so far failed to deliver additional bank access. The new environment secretary inherits a consultation promise already years overdue, just as record heatwaves make free water access a public-health issue as well as a rights one.
