Petition Launched to Save Bracknell's Cut River

Hundreds have signed a petition demanding action over pollution of The Cut, a small river running from North Ascot through Binfield to Bray and into the Thames.

Neighbours say businesses are discharging pollutants into the water, and the petition asks Bracknell Forest Council, Thames Water and the Environment Agency to investigate, penalise those responsible and monitor the area.

The petition was published in June after the Daler-Rowney factory fire on Monday 25 May. A reporter saw what looked like contamination in a brook near Peacock Lane the following day.

The petition states: "We submit this to demand immediate, legally binding regulatory intervention.

"Systematic commercial and industrial activities are actively discharging illegal contaminants into the river known as The Cut, releasing unmonitored toxic atmospheric emissions, and decimating irreplaceable local woodland ecosystems.

"We demand absolute accountability and statutory law enforcement from our governing authorities to protect Bracknell’s environment.

"The Cut river and its surrounding riparian woodlands are vital ecological corridors supporting immense biodiversity. Current industrial negligence is causing severe environmental harm.

"Direct commercial run-off is introducing toxic chemical loads into the river system, causing unnatural foaming, suffocating aquatic life, and poisoning the local water table.

"The discharge of pollutants is actively destroying the critical nesting, foraging, and breeding grounds of protected British wildlife, including indigenous bird species and river swans.

"Unchecked industrial fumes and atmospheric toxins compromise local air quality, creating a direct, quantifiable health hazard for Bracknell families."

The petition does not name any firms. It also explains riparian woodland as the trees and bushes along river banks, and notes kingfishers, grey herons and minks live on The Cuts banks.

Signatories want 24/7 environmental monitoring and CCTV along industrial boundaries to "instantly capture and trace illegal pollution spikes," and for companies found responsible to fund an ecological recovery plan.

You can sign the e-petition on the Bracknell Forest Council website. A mirror on Change.org by Rio Romanul has 51 signatures and uses the same wording.

The petition also asks for help from Peter Swallow, the Labour MP for Bracknell, and Caroline Egglestone, a borough councillor for Bullbrook who joined the Green Party in July.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter