Love Your River Stour

The River Stour rises in the Clent Hills of Northern Worcestershire, before flowing in a northerly direction down into the Black Country towns of Halesowen and then due west through Cradley and Lye to Stourbridge and beyond into South Staffordshire where it joins the Smestow Brook before flowing South and on into Worcestershire once more where it joins the River Severn. Comprising 11 Water Framework Directive (WFD) water bodies and multiple tributaries, the River Stour catchment is over 200km in length.  

The Stour once helped to power the industrial revolution, and the countless mills and forges which were found all along the rivers course, particularly in the upper reaches within the Black Country.

The industrial heritage severely impacted on the health of the river, which turned from a largely pristine Salmonid River to one very polluted with sewage and industrial run off. Weirs and dams were built across it to power waterwheels. This all but destroyed the fish and invertebrate populations to a point that the river became ecologically dead and flowed the colour of khaki.

From a River whose origins all the towns and villages along its banks owed their existence, the Stour became a dirty word, something to be avoided, a stream of lifeless filthy water that could often be smelt before it was seen. Over the years as the industry declined water quality improved, but the weirs and dams remained and increasing urban pressures resulted in rubbish being dumped, sewage releases, misconnections from drains as well as run-off from roads all contributing to the continued challenges. 

Now there is a growing fervour to help put right the damage of the past and a growing desire to restore what once was lost. Now the Stour Valley is recognised as an important wildlife corridor running East to West in the Southern Black Country linking Western Birmingham to the border of South Staffordshire, and when all the tributaries are included it makes up a large network of interconnected corridors where wildlife can move through a densely populated urban area.