Statement from The Rivers Trust in response to the Autumn 2026 budget

• Today’s budget includes some positive measures for rivers, but does not do enough to protect and restore nature, which a healthy economy depends upon 
• The budget sets out important environmental standards for data centres, but these should be a legal requirement for all  
• National and economic security is dependent on environmental resilience, so government must prioritise protections for nature and green finance 

Today’s budget provides some small wins for our rivers, but the Treasury – and government as a whole – must go much further to recognise the crucial role that nature and the environment play in a healthy, resilient economy and society. 

We are pleased to see that the government has set out its expectations for data centre operators in its Data Centre Covenant, especially the requirement for strategic data centres to use water efficiently and operate a closed loop system to protect local water supplies. However, most data centres will only be encouraged, not required, to meet these standards. We would like to see these legal requirements extended to all data centres to safeguard our environment from harm in the pursuit of economic growth. 

It is frustrating that the protections for nature given with one hand have been taken away with the other, with the news that brownfield development sites of up to 1.5 hectares will be exempt from Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements. Brownfield sites are often rich in biodiversity and serve as natural spaces for some of our most nature-deprived communities. Exempting them from BNG requirements undermines the huge potential of green finance and the government’s own good growth agenda. 

Notably, there was little mention of water in today’s budget, aside from general commitments to further devolution. At The Rivers Trust we will be keeping a close eye on the upcoming Clean Water Bill and will continue to advocate for robust regulation and effective regional governance, in our mission to create rivers fit for the future. 

Tessa Wardley, Executive Director of Advocacy, Comms & Philanthropy, said: “National security and resilience is simply not achievable if our environment is not protected. Technological advancement at the level we're seeing today has an undeniable impact on the natural environment and it is right that we put the protections in place now to ensure it does not come at the expense of local communities. We'd welcome further conversations with the government to ensure that happens.”