The Tame Valley Wetlands Living
Landscape Scheme
The River Tame is 100km long and the largest
tributary of the River Trent. It starts in the Black Country and
continues eastwards through Birmingham, before changing direction
at Water Orton and flowing north through Tamworth. It has a number
of important tributaries, the most significant of which are the
rivers Rea, Cole, Blythe and Anker. The Tame Valley Wetlands Living
Landscape Scheme focuses on the valley between Birmingham and
Tamworth, located in north-west Warwickshire and south-east
Staffordshire.
Before the industrial revolution, the River
Tame meandered slowly through broad landscapes of wildlife-rich
marshes, reeds and pastures. The area was known for its breeding
wildfowl and large over-wintering populations of migrating birds
and waders.
During the industrial revolution, the Tame
Valley changed completely - natural floodplain and woodland was
replaced by agriculture, industry and housing. Gravel extraction
occurred along much of the River Tame in the 1960s and during the
1970s and 1980s the river was engineered for flood defence
purposes, which made the river deeper, wider and straighter. This
has resulted in a highly managed and unnatural river with little
remaining functioning floodplain and long stretches lined with
concrete reinforcement. The historical combination of pollution,
loss of floodplain habitats and the hard engineering works meant
the River Tame and the Tame Valley lost most of its wildlife and
conservation value.
Today, there is a very different landscape
to be enjoyed by nearly two million people who live close to the
River Tame. Despite the historical damage, the river is now cleaner
and the old gravel working sites, which once blighted the
landscape, now help to form the largest series of interconnected
wetlands in Warwickshire. The Tame Valley is now a regionally
important area of semi-natural habitat, hosting a rich diversity of
habitat-types, wildlife and rare species. The area is also home to
several of the most important wildlife sites in the Midlands, such
as Whitacre
Heath SSSI, and the river corridor is a vital north-south
migration route, providing essential resting and feeding places for
hundreds of migratory birds.
Nevertheless, there are still plenty of
improvements that can be achieved in the Tame Valley for both
people and wildlife. There is scope to undertake a wide variety of
projects that can have multiple benefits, creating and restoring
wetland habitat and functioning floodplain, reducing pollution and
flooding, as well as improving amenity value, access and community
involvement. Much more needs to be done to increase and restore
connectivity across Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Birmingham to
enable wildlife to survive the impacts of natural and man-made
localised events and adapt to the effects of climate change.
The Tame Valley Wetlands
Partnership
In 2005, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust set up
the Tame Valley Wetlands Partnership (TVWP) to deliver large area
conservation throughout the Tame Valley Living Landscape area. The
area focuses on the Tame Valley between Birmingham and Tamworth,
covering 9,500 hectares. The Partnership has been set up so that
organisations, landowners and local communities can work together
in order to create an important wildlife corridor through the West
Midlands region, which will be valued by local people and visited
as a key wildlife tourism destination.
The TVWP offers an exceptional opportunity
within the West Midlands region to demonstrate that conservation
and the enhancement of biodiversity can go hand-in-hand with social
and economic regeneration. There is increasing public recognition
of the wider benefits of naturally functioning floodplains and
their role in flood control, including enhanced protection for
settlements downstream, the maintenance of a diverse and rich
landscape and the restoration and re-creation of lost wetland
biodiversity.
By organisations, landowners and
communities working together, the Partnership aims to enhance the
ecological and socio-economic value of the Tame Valley and increase
habitat connectivity across Staffordshire, Warwickshire and
Birmingham. This can be achieved by enhancing, restoring and
creating new wetland habitat, which will enable wildlife to survive
the impacts of natural and man-made events and adapt to the effects
of climate change, with the ultimate vision of creating a wetland
landscape rich in wildlife and accessible to all.
The Partnership is led by Warwickshire
Wildlife Trust and supported by a large number of organisations,
including Government Agencies, Local Councils and Non-Governmental
Organisations and charities.
Vision
A wetland landscape rich in
wildlife and accessible to all, throughout the Tame
Valley.
Aims
By working with a range of partners,
organisations, landowners and the local community the partnership
will aim to:
- Enhance the Tame Valley for the benefit of
wildlife and biodiversity, adopting a landscape-scale approach to
conservation in order to protect habitats and species in a changing
world affected by climate change, working to fulfil the Landscapes
for Living vision.
- Enhance the Tame Valley for the benefit of
people, through education, engagement and the promotion of
sustainable tourism and land management in order to improve social
and economic wellbeing.
- Integrate the TVWP Strategy into local,
regional and national strategies and to promote the TVWP in order
to raise the profile of, and secure continued funding for, the Tame
Valley.
Download the 'The Wildlife Landscape of the Tame Valley'
leaflet
