(artist’s impression only)
Purpose
The village pond is at the heart of our village and has historically been the host of many local events. It was last regenerated through volunteers over 20 years ago but has fallen to neglect over recent years for the following reasons:
- The original pea gravel path that followed the pond edge has compacted in to the ground, with the timber edging long ago rotten
- The increased storm water run off which is a result of the road widening and storm drainage that runs in to the pond means the surrounding land (where the path was ) to the pond generally sits very wet now and is hard to maintain with the village ride-on mower. It also means this area is inaccessible to most
- The planting to the bank did not generally include site appropriate species, becoming too large for the site and overgrowing the bank and surrounding area. This has led to concerns locally that the pond is no longer naturally surveyed so this planting had to be stripped out
- The seating in this area has rotted away and not been replaced
Consultation to date
We have undertaken an initial public consultation within the village, receiving overwhelming support for its regeneration. People within the community have said they wish to see:
- Increased all-weather accessibility eg boardwalk
- Additional seating
- Replanting of the bank with low level native planting
- Additional bulb planting
- Additional information point and way-marking
- Safety for children
What we’ve done since
Based on the initial feedback, the Parish Council have worked hard to raise funds for the project and have recently been award the ECDC Pride of Place grant amounting to £7,500 towards the project. Our intention is to fund the project wholly through grants and donations and not through our precept.
Our vision
The pond is set within the lowest part of Coveney’s village green. Due to the reasons mentioned previously, access to this vital community asset is restricted to a few who can manage to navigate the steep bank and boggy ground conditions. We believe that it is vital to ensure that this area is accessible to all now and for a long time in to the future.
The pond area is host to large number of habitats and wildlife and an important educational tool for people within the village as well as an for contemplation and wellbeing. Potential seating and decked areas will allow all people within the Parish to fully access and enjoy an area which previously they could not.
Next steps
We are inviting parishioners to take part in a short follow-up consultation, focusing on the issues identified by the community last year.
The following timescales are envisaged:
- Consultation – March 2024 – April
- Potential funding ‘top-up’ May – August
- Hard-landscaping – August – September
- Soft-landscaping – October – February 2025
We encourage residents to provide their thoughts on each of the following key points identified. Please rank the following in order of importance to you, providing additional commentary you feel would be informative to our decision making in the boxes adjacent.