Pond at Radford Park

We know there has been some concern about the pond at Radford Park and we would like to provide an update and some background information.

The pond at Radford Park was created some years ago and is therefore a man-made pond. This means that there is no natural flow of water and this can lead to silting over time. The pond was dredged over 25 years ago but over the last few years there has been some silt build up which we have been monitoring.

We asked the Environment Agency to visit us earlier this year to give us advice about the best way to manage, not just the pond, but the flow of water through the park. The Environment Agency advised that the pond did not necessarily need to be dredged and we could, instead, plant reeds on the silted areas. We understand that dredging can be carried out every 20 years or so but it can cause considerable disturbance to a pond so the Council will need to seek further advice on this from experts.

The Environment Agency also suggested that we should open the sluice gate in the Park to allow the river to flow naturally. The effect of this would be to ultimately create a much more natural waterway but it would mean that the pond could, and probably would, become defunct or, at the very least, considerably smaller.  At last week’s Recreation Committee meeting, councillors decided to take the advice of the Environment Agency and raise the sluice gate to see what effect this would have on the pond. We are monitoring this over the week with the intention of closing the sluice gate again at the end of the week. The water level should then quickly return to previous levels. Water levels and waterways throughout the park will be monitored over this period.

Please be assured that no decisions about the future of the pond have been made and much more work will need to be undertaken which will include talking to experts and to residents. What is clear, though, is that maintaining any artificial pond is costly and we will need to weigh up the benefits and the costs over time to our residents.

If you would like to share your views with the Council please email clerk@bramshottandliphook-pc.gov.uk