Published: Friday, 7th November, 2008 08:30
£95k price tag for skating pond dream
By Fiona Howard
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FEARS: Concerns over the pond site are increasing.
HELENSBURGH’S Skating Pond has turned from an environmental triumph to an environmental disaster and it will take £95,000 to cure.
The Victorian pond, which was used for skating in winter and model boat regattas in the summer months, was altered 10 years ago to enhance the biodiversity of the pond and encourage wildlife to make their homes there.
But the dream has gone sour and the pond has become choked with weeds.
It is currently lying almost empty as experts conduct a full scale analysis and council chiefs make a bid to find the £95,000 to allow the changes that will rescue the vision to begin.
John Robins, secretary of Dumbarton-based charity Animal Concern Advice Line, wrote to local councillors on the issue, saying: “Animal Concern Advice Line recently received a call from a member of the public concerned for the ducks up at the ‘skating pond’ at the top of Sinclair Street in Helensburgh. I went up and was horrified to discover the pond is all but empty.
“There is extensive growth of grass and weeds which indicates that, despite our sunless summer, there has not been much water in the pond for several months.
“I’m not too worried about the few ducks left on the pond as they will simply fly off and find more suitable habitat. The swans have already vacated the premises!
“However, other birds like coot and moorhen will probably stay and are at increased risk of predation by foxes. If the pond is not repaired and refilled by spring a major breeding ground for many waterfowl will have been lost.
“Of more immediate concern are populations of small fish and amphibians such as newts. Immature newts which have not yet fully developed from tadpoles into adult newts often over winter in ponds. There are still several pools of water in the middle of the pond but these are only a few inches deep and are likely to freeze solid during the winter, killing any small creatures living there.”
But Councillor Al Reay who is chairman of Lower Clyde Greenspace, said that it has been drained in order to try to clear some of the weeds .
But to do the job properly and to establish the correct environmental balance would take a £95,000 sum because the pond would have the be dug out and made deeper.
He said: “The reason we have got this problem is that Scottish Natural Heritage built the wee island 10 years ago and it has promoted the weed growth. The creation of the island seems to have disrupted the drainage system and that is one of the root causes of the problem.
“I have done a lot of work with Scottish Water on this and it seems that the only way to solve the problem is to drain the pond and excavate it to the depth of one metre. It is only half a metre now and because it is so shallow a lot of light gets to the reeds roots and promotes growth.
“The problem is that it will cost £95,000 to do to the job and we also have a problem in getting the partial clearance done in the meantime because anyone working in the pond will be up to their thighs in mud and there are health and safety issues.”
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