Village pond gets much-needed revamp

An historic village pond which provides a focal point for those wanting to enjoy nature has been given a major make-over.

The Wisbech St Mary pond is believed to have been created sometime in the 1700s following the extraction of clay to form building bricks for village homes.

In its early days the pond, which is recorded as the 'St Mary's Pit and Public watering place' in 1833, would have provided a drinking spot for cattle on the way to market in Wisbech.

Since then the pond has become a place for people to view nature, sit and reflect. It became a great stop off place for people to sit during the pandemic when people were out for their walk.

Sadly over the past few years the pond has deteriorated. Over grown trees were cut back in 2020 but the water was full of duckweed, over ridden by reeds, was smelly and water quality could not sustain wildlife.

However, a recent project carried out by the parish council with support of Anglian Water, who helped fund the scheme £8,000 scheme means the pond is now in pristine condition and is once again an attractive location for nature for all to enjoy including the village school pupils, who can use it to help with their studies.

The project had four aims to establish an area for wild flowers, a habitat for pond life, birds and insects among other wildlife.

The installation of an information board, a safety fence to the front of the pond and the creation of a clearly defined walk way around the pond.

The works took two weeks and started with a local drain company -ADC Ltd - dredging it and removingand remove the resulting slurry. Closely followed by Fishlock Stables and Groundworks Ltd who removed the majority of the reed bed, shaped the earth banks, constructed a viewing path and enclosed the pond with the wooden safety fence.

Parish councillor David Wheeler said: “ We are delighted with the final result, it’s a great improvement over the old pond and will allow many to enjoy the village pond for years to come."