The pond at Big Mead park in Shanklin could face closure and demolition if problems with its 200-year-old pipework aren’t fixed.
The main issue at the pond is that a pipe that brings water in from the downs has collapsed somewhere along the line, meaning that DARES (Dial-a-Rod Engineering Services) have to send a camera through the line to see exactly where the issue is.
These developments aren’t helped by the fact that between 40-50 carp have recently been illegally dumped in the pond, with fluctuating water levels meaning all the fish in the pond need to be re-homed.
Arrangements have been made to transfer the fish into an unused pond at Shanklin Manor whilst the works are carried out, however, that cannot take place until the Environment Agency has issued a permit.
On Sunday afternoon the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service went to the pond and pumped around 10,000 litres of water back in to help the fish who were gasping for air as the water levels dwindled.
A fundraiser has been started to raise money for the initial clearance of the pond before the major works begin, however access to the site of the pipework is proving tricky with the majority of it on private property.
Sharon Cooper, alongside her husband Brian, got involved with the local town council and other authorities to find the lost natural streams after witnessing ongoing evaporation of water that threatens to make it uninhabitable for wildlife. Sharon and Brian successfully located the natural source of water in need of repair to get it flowing back to the pond, and the Isle of Wight Council has agreed to fund the required work if it can be repaired.
After setting up the fundraiser, Sharon said:
“Over the last few weeks, many of you would have seen us trying to rescue a terrapin from the pond that was released there.
“In the process, we have witnessed the evaporation of the water and poor state of the pond, at the present time the water is at dangerously low levels and affecting wildlife.
“If the pond dries, it will be fenced off and we will lose (more than) 200 years worth of history.”
Fundraiser??
We’ve already had a fundraiser for this. It’s called Council Tax and I contribute over a £1000 a year to that so why isn’t it being used to fund this project? Or has the money already been diverted to manage a pond in London?
Hi, stage 1 off the work is being done by volunteers that we are organising, but all the rest is being covered by the IWCC and Shanklin town council
Hmmm I smell a rat, I bet the council say it is to expensive to fix, it will go dry and get filled in and that and the park will one day become more damn houses.
Sorry but you got it totally wrong, i can assure you if viable it is all going ahead, there will not be house’s being built, we will continue helping Councillor Adrian Whittaker with this campaign until it is restored to what it was. The only rat you will smell is if you go to the pond
Well done Sharon and Brian for caring and getting things done xx
Sharon, I hope your right, however I would not trust our council for a second….They are like any other council, Corrupt…
U said it in one
Get the council to fund it, fix it and make the money back selling fishing licences.
Problem solved
The council are funding a huge part of the work, but we as volunteers need to make sure the water source is viable before they do the big work on the pond
https://gofund.me/54169547
Well done Sharon and Brian for taking action. This pond is an essential attraction for, and key contributor to, Shanklin’s wildlife all year round. It would be an environmental disaster if it did not exist. To be honest, the pond would benefit from a good dredging from all the silt build up over many years.