The parish council has commissioned work to improve the condition of the main ponds in Haddenham. Here is an overview:
Church End Pond
The ground behind the sleepers around the edge of the pond has eroded away over time and this has meant that some of the sleepers have become dislodged. The parish council has arranged for RTM to carry out repairs to the banks of the pond and work will start on Wednesday 12th August and take 2 to 3 days. This work will be funded from a reserve established last year for pond work.
Rudds Pond
Silt has been building up in the pond over the last few years and now needs removing otherwise the pond will eventually be completely filled with silt. The last time the silt was removed, over 20 years ago, it was dumped on the field of a local farmer. However, since then government regulations have been put in place controlling the dumping of potentially hazardous waste.
Last year the parish council had a sample of the silt tested for contaminants and the results indicated a level of contamination that would prevent it from being dumped on farm land (this is a common finding for most community ponds, and is due to run off from the road). The silt therefore has to be transported away to be disposed of safely which has significantly increased the cost of carrying out the work.
The parish council pond reserve fund did not have sufficient funds to pay for this work, so it was agreed that the shortfall would be funded from the general contingency as the ponds form an important part of the heritage of Haddenham and should be preserved.
Tree surgeon Nick Heath has already carried out some tree work around the pond to tidy the area up and help reduce the build up of leaf debris in the pond in future. Ponds UK will be starting the silt clearance work on Monday 10th August.
The water supply to both the ponds has been switched off to allow water levels to drop for the work to take place. Unfortunately, thanks to the recent rainfall (the great British summer!) the water levels have now risen slightly, so some draining may now be required.
Haddenham parish council will continue to add funds to the pond reserve each year to ensure that sufficient funds are available for their future maintenance needs, and this also includes provision for Banks Pond.
