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Mission:
The Mersey Basin Campaign works within the catchments of the River Mersey and the River Ribble, in the counties of Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire. Its main aim is to repair the damage done to the region's rivers by industrialisation and to foster a future that is modern and prosperous with an improved environment.

The campaign's mission is to:
 * Improve water quality so that all rivers, streams and waters in the Mersey and Ribble catchments are clean enough to support fish by 2010
 * Encourage waterside regeneration
 * Actively engage the public, private, community and voluntary sectors in the process.

History:
The campaign was established in 1985 in the wake of the Toxteth riots in Liverpool. Michael Heseltine, then Environment Minister in Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government, was the driving force behind its creation. He spoke of the River Mersey at the time as "a disgrace to a civilised society".

Organisation:
The Mersey Basin Campaign is a partnership that is backed by the UK Government through the sponsorship of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, currently John Prescott. It is also supported by businesses, local authorities and public agencies.

The campaign works through two bodies; the Mersey Basin Business Foundation, and the Healthy Waterways Trust. The Foundation is responsible for business and administrative tasks, as well as for much of the campaign's finances, whilst the Healthy Waterways Trust is a charitable body whose main role is to administer the campaign's charitable funds. The campaign is overseen by its council, which has around thirty members, drawn from the various public and private sector partners. Chair of the campaign is Professor Peter Batey.

Local Action:
The Mersey Basin Campaign works with communities on local projects around the North West of England through a network of action partnerships. The action partnerships are:


 * Action Bollin
 * Action Darwen Valley
 * Action Douglas and Yarrow
 * Action Etherow and Goyt
 * Action Glaze
 * Action Irk and Roch
 * Action Irwell
 * Action Manchester Waterways
 * Action Medlock and Tame
 * Action Mersey Estuary
 * Action Ribble Estuary
 * Action Rossendale Rivers
 * Action Upper Weaver
 * Action Weaver Valley
 * Action Wirral Rivers
 * Action Worsley Brooks

Related Links:
www.merseybasin.org.uk