A Fresh Water Future was launched in January 2024 as an independently-facilitated and co-created expert and public manifesto for the next UK government to recover the health and resilience of our rivers, streams, lakes and coastal waters through an ambitious yet achievable package of measures.
Central to A Fresh Water Future was the question of how to deliver the widest-ranging beneficial outcomes for people, nature and the economy as effectively and cost-efficiently as possible. The scale of the task is huge. The cost – but also the benefits of success – equally so. So the need for effective delivery is paramount.
Water companies will be put on special measures and their priorities recalibrated through their articles of association placing greater emphasis on customers and the environment. Their delivery programmes for 2025-2030 will be the biggest yet. Major infrastructure is to be fast-tracked. Housing delivered at greater scale. Farming and land use incentives and planning reviewed and updated.
All of these actions will impact on water health and resilience, and will play out at a catchment scale. So effective catchment planning, regulation and delivery will be crucial to unlocking the effectiveness and efficiency that make huge investment go as far as possible, offering the best value for money to bill payers and tax payers.
Maximising the use of multifunctional, community and nature-based solutions as part of this approach is a fundamental part of the picture but one of the most challenging to unlock.
A Fresh Water Future conference brings the nation’s leading practitioners and thinkers together to look across water infrastructure, urban planning and development and farming and rural land management to unlock the answers and build consensus on how to practically support government’s ambition in this space.
Set across four main facilitated sessions the conference will understand:
- The nuance of the challenges
- The needs of key water cycle actors to deliver their objectives
- How we can regulate effectively for optimal water outcomes through catchment and nature-based solutions
- Where and how this is already being done, and what we can take from this experience to enable the approach to be mainstreamed.
Matt Clegg is participating in session three, “Effective delivery at a catchment scale”. This is being chaired by Dr Paul Leinster CBE, Chair, Water Resources East and Member of the Board for Office of Environmental Protection.
This session will explore case studies of how the challenges are being addressed, the actors brought together to work effectively in collaboration, the regulatory and operational landscapes are being piloted, explored and tested. It will understand the practicalities of partnership working, how markets can play a part, how finance can get involved. Crucially, how approaches can be replicated across the country.
About the speakers
Matt is Binnies Environment Director of Consultancy Services, he leads the company’s environmental consultancy portfolio across the water, energy, and transport sectors, as well as large-scale regeneration initiatives. A Chartered Environmentalist and Scientist, Matt brings extensive experience in the development and delivery of multi-benefit infrastructure projects for both the public and private sectors. From strategic planning to on-site implementation, he has successfully led projects that enhances natural capital through delivery of green infrastructure, including river restoration, wetlands, and broader habitat creation schemes. Under Matt’s leadership, these initiatives have secured funding, demonstrating environmental improvement and sustainable development.
In addition to his work at Binnies, Matt is a Director of Chester Community Energy, a Community Benefit Society that raises private finance for local renewable energy projects. His combined expertise in infrastructure, sustainability, and community engagement positions him at the forefront of efforts to drive environmental innovation and deliver long-term benefits for both nature recovery and society.