Love the Cran Brook

We are part of a growing movement to reclaim our local River and bring it back into everyday community life, the Roding and Ilford’s tributaries. Ilford’s Cran Brook used to run free from its source in Fairlop, through Valentines Park and then joining the River Roding.

We are collecting stories of people who remember the biodiversity of the Fairlop wetlands and as children playing in the Cran Brook in Valentines Park, fishing for Tiddlers etc.  We have postcards of people fishing for eels in Valentines Park, that made their journey from the Thames, the Roding and into Valentines Park!  We are also collecting local knowledge of the pollution points, and potential partners and solutions.  Here’s a memory of playing in the Cran Brook as a child when it was healthy and ran free.  Chris Gannaway’s memories

The Cran Brook is now culverted (in a pipe) and only sees daylight for the few meters by the Forest Garden (google pin) where we can see and smell how polluted it is.  So rather than flow on and into the boating lake like it used it,  it is diverted in another pipe and goes underground to pollute the Roding.

We are partnering with the River Roding Trust, Thames 21 and growing number of local groups and residents to Restore the Cran Brook

Some Good News! See this video of our Pilgrimage Walk on 8 November, led by Paul Powlesland, Guardian of the River Roding and his solution to Daylight the Cran Brook.  The Cran Brook could run free.  It could flow through Valentines Park with natural banks and not be constrained by concrete any more.  Please share this video  to help us build up knowledge, interest and love for this River that pre-dates the humans of Ilford!

“Now it has been scientifically proven that the Cran Brook is one of the most polluted rivers in London and that Thames Water & LB Redbridge are responsible. We had a recent meeting about water quality in Redbridge where it was put to them as the top priority. We now need to firm up details such as design, cost and land ownership, which we intend to do in January. Once we have these clear we can begin a more public campaign for restoration” Paul Powlesland,  Guardian of the River Roding. To read Paul’s full report on the Cran Brook click here.

Want to hear the view of Mayflies and the Cran Brook? (With thanks to Claudia Fernandez de Cordoba Farini of Living Imaganaries for expressing a non human view) Click here

To join the Love The Cran Brook Whatsapp and to keep in touch, please email ilfordtransition@gmail.com or message 07957 534908.  To join the River Roding Trust Whatsapp community (different one for each area/tributary) click here

Transition Ilford has held various events over the past few years,  a Show The Love event in 2022, a blessing for the Cran Brook at our 2023 Forest Garden festival, a Valentines Park waterways community walk with John Rogers in August 2024, and hosted a River Roding consultation in March 25 with Thames 21 and the River Roding Trust in March 25,