By Katherine Turner
A large-scale clean-up has been completed on the popular fish pond, located opposite Farnley Hall Park, with locals hailing the work a “massive improvement.”
As reported in WLD, the smallest nature reserve in Leeds has been neglected for many years until Ebsford Environmental were tasked by Leeds City Council to tackle this project.
The most important initial phase of work is now complete with over 3,500 tonnes of sediment removed, fences erected and over 5,500 plants introduced.
New beds have been created using the removed silt to make the area much more pleasing for the public to enjoy. Over the summer months the last stages will be completed with new footpaths being created and existing ones improved.
Councillor Adrian McCluskey (Lab, Farnley & Wortley) said: “It’s great that the initial significant works to the pond have been completed by Ebsford and Leeds City Council’s Parks Department. I would like to thank those involved.
“For too long this pond has remained neglected. Now it has been brought back to life and it is great to see this community asset back in full use. People are really pleased and we are trying to encourage community involvement by establishing a “Friends of Farnley Pond” group together.”
Previous concerns from the local community have been that the pond could easily fall back into a state of neglect again if it is not looked after.
Litter has been noticed around the banking area and bottles and other litter in the pond itself, but hopefully the creation of a Friends group will ensure the area is well cared for.
Farnley resident Nicola Massey said the community feels now the work is completed. She told WLD: “The pond has been improved massively and the impact of the silt redeposited has created cleaner water for the wildlife who can swim more freely and have deeper water to dive for food and build their nests without litter and sludge to wade through.”
Nicola is hoping that the cleaner area will attract a wider variety of birds and other wildlife to the area: “It would be wonderful if we could attract the many toads and frogs that used to frequent the pond and the smaller insects and butterflies can make the pond their home.
“I think there needs to be a firm plan for the future of the pond and how we can come together as a community to ensure it is treasured to pass on to the next generation.”
Anyone that would like more information or to help create the friends group can attend a public meeting at Farnley Hall on Monday, 2 December between 2pm and 3pm, or can e-mail Thuja.Phillips@leeds.gov.uk.
Update: This article was updated to clarify the Friends meeting is on Monday, 2 December, not December 3 as originally reported. Our apologies for any confusion.
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Gosh, this was done quickly. I look forward to visiting the pond soon.