The Mersey Basin Campaign began in 1985 as a 25-year, government-backed movement to clean up the entire Mersey river system. Its sister organisation, the Mersey Rivers Trust, continues following the completion of the Mersey Basin Campaign in 2010.
The Campaign grew out of the then Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Heseltine’s visits to Liverpool in the aftermath of the Toxteth riots of 1981. In a deliberately provocative call to action, Heseltine wrote about the Mersey in 1983:
“Today the river is an affront to the standards a civilised society should demand of its environment. Untreated sewage, pollutants, noxious discharges all contribute to water conditions and environmental standards that are perhaps the single most deplorable feature of this critical part of England.”
To take action on local stretches of river, the Mersey Basin Campaign set up a network of over 20 Action Partnerships, working closely with volunteers, schools, businesses, local authorities, regulators and politicians on a wide range of improvement projects.
The Environment 09 conference was a major half-day environmental event held on 22 September 2009 at the ACC Liverpool (BT Convention Centre). It marked the 25th and final anniversary year of the Mersey Basin Campaign, celebrating the transformation and cleanup of the River Mersey.
The half-day event featured a line up of top speakers including: ·The secretary of state for the environment, Hilary Benn (via a live video link from London) · the goverment’s former chief scientific advisor Professor Sir David King , former environment minister Michael Heseltine and Bishop James Jones of Liverpool.
Friends of Anderton and Marbury was commended at this prestigious event for ‘Outstanding and Inspirational Volunteers.’