Polluted chalk streams in England’s South Downs infuriated voters in Chichester, a seat that had been Conservative for a century
The River Lavant, one of the world’s rare chalk streams, is a precious and much-loved habitat in the South Downs, but has been blighted by hundreds of sewage spills.
Its chalk-filtered waters rise in East Dean, West Sussex, described by locals as the “quintessential English village”, flow south to Lavant and carve a route to Chichester. It flows out to sea via Chichester harbour.