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Following on from our successful scheme, Transforming the Trent Valley, in the east of Staffordshire, Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, in partnership with others, has turned its attention along the length of the River Trent and are beginning a feasibility study and scoping project in the Trent Headwaters.
This is an 18-month programme funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
This initial 18-month project is being delivered by the following organisations working in partnership:
Following the end of this short project we hope to have signed up a new partnership of locally-based organisations, headed by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, who will work together to raise funding and help to develop and deliver a series of projects that collectively will transform the Trent Headwaters.
We are starting by mapping the Trent Headwaters and to do this we need to understand what that means.
We are examining maps to identify the watercourses (streams and brooks) that feed into the River Trent as it rises in Biddulph Moor and flows through Stoke-on-Trent. We want to understand where these watercourses are and what condition they are in.
We are then exploring the different habitats that are supported by our rivers, streams and brooks. Do they flood? How are they impacted by high temperatures? What species live there and what species are missing?
We will take this information and learning and use it to help us identify projects that can be delivered to make a positive difference to wildlife and the environment.
We are reviewing the Historic Environment Record to understand what is already known about the Trent Headwaters landscape. We want to identify sites of historic or cultural interest.
We are speaking to and networking with history and heritage groups, organisations and universities to learn more about the area. We want to know what work has already taken place, what projects are already underway and where we can offer support. We don’t want to replicate work that is already being done, we want to identify exciting new opportunities to build our understanding of the past and protect heritage at risk.
Some of our research will identify projects that we can deliver as part of our scheme. This will include tangible heritage – physical heritage that is at risk of being lost, and intangible heritage – our cultural heritage, stories and oral histories. But the research will also inform other projects, helping us to better understand the landscape we live in and make better informed decisions.
To help us to better understand the local area, we are speaking to communities, families and individuals across Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent and Biddulph. We are attending local events, visiting groups and just being out and about chatting to people.
We want to hear your thoughts, understand your concerns and find out what you are passionate to see happen in your local area.
We are delivering a series of consultation activities to deep dive into local concerns and priorities with the intention of finding new project ideas and better informing current and evolving project ideas to help us build a future scheme that will have a real and genuine impact on the Trent Headwaters.
Over the 18-months of this feasibility study we will have spoken to partner organisations, undertaken in-depth audits of our natural and cultural heritage, engaged communities through consultation and generated detailed maps for the Trent Headwaters.
We will then compile this information into a summary masterplan. This is a 10-year and 30-year vision for the landscape that will set out what the priorities and opportunities are and what steps are needed to realise that vision. This will include a long-list of projects, both short-term and long-term, that need to be delivered.
We will not set out to deliver all this work; we will identify where our partnership can add the greatest value and compile a scheme of interconnected projects that improve the Trent Headwaters for nature, communities and heritage. We will make our learning and research publicly accessible so others can pick it up and deliver their own projects and initiatives.
