Natural Course commissioned Eunomia to produce a report to better understand water governance across the North West (England) River Basin District, with a more focused look in Cumbria, and provide suggestions as to whether a new water governance model could work and what that model could be.
Natural Course is an EU LIFE IP funded programme comprised of organisations who all operate within the North West of England, working together to seek cost-effective solutions to improve the Water Framework Directive (WFD) Status in the region, by sharing best practice from across the UK and Europe.
Natural Course’s key aim is to make better use of resources, share ownership of complex issues and reduce barriers and maximise outcomes by taking a collaborative approach with others from the public, private and third sector. This requires a good understanding of how water governance is operated and how this might be improved.
The report provides a high-level look of water governance across the North West of England, anticipating Phase 2, set to delve into governance in Cumbria, and Phase 3 which will provide a recommendation for the most suitable structure for Cumbria. This is an interim report which captures the findings from Phase 1. It will be further developed, checked and clarified, as we undertake research in Phases 2 and 3.
