The River Crane in West London is the UK’s first urban Smarter Water Catchment and since 2020 has benefited from £3m of direct investment across five main themes – community and access; biodiversity; water quality; geomorphology and flooding – with at least £20m of further investment identified.
This webinar sets out the main findings of the programme to date, considers the extent to which the catchment has been transformed across each theme, and whether it might be possible to achieve “Good Ecological Status” in a highly developed urban river.
Rob Gray, Chair and Director, Crane Valley CIC
Rob Gray has a background in environmental management and a passion for rivers. He worked for 20 years in consultancy, mostly with WS Atkins – and specialising in catchment management. In 2003 he helped to found Friends of the River Crane Environment (FORCE), a Charity working to enhance the community and environmental value of this small West London river. In 2021 he helped to set up the Crane Valley CIC, which chairs the Crane Valley Partnership and plays a lead role in delivering the Smarter Water Catchment programme.
