The River Crane is a small tributary of the River Thames that covers around 125 sq km of urban and suburban west London. FORCE is a local charity, with over 500 members, set up eleven years ago to help preserve and enhance the environmental and community value of the river corridor. FORCE is a member of the Crane Valley Partnership, which includes five London boroughs as well as Thames Water, the Environment Agency and Greater London Authority.
The River Crane corridor was first settled in pre-history and is the site of Roman villas and camps. It remained a rural backwater near to London until the 1500’s when a water transfer system from the River Colne to the west led to the development of mills along its middle and lower reaches. The suburban spread of London in the early 20th century engulfed much of the catchment, but the corridor was protected by early local planning policy and the declaration of the corridor as the “West London Green Chain” in the Middlesex plan of 1924.
With the dissolution of Middlesex County Council in the 1960’s, and the division of the catchment into five London boroughs, there followed 30 years of gentle decline and disuse, culminating in various threats of development and loss to the green corridor.
Now, following the creation of the Crane Valley Partnership and the investment of several million pounds into improvements along the corridor, the River Crane stands at a crossroads. How will this valuable linear green space fare in the face of public pending cuts and increasing population pressures?
This paper sets out the history of the River Crane as a productive landscape and sets out potential opportunities for maintaining and improving the environmental and community value of the corridor.
