Improvement plans for Midhurst's South Pond
A £37,000 programme of improvements at Midhurst's South Pond could begin this month if funding is approved.
At its executive board meeting tomorrow (January 5) Chichester District Councillors (CDC) will be asked to give the go-ahead for the release of 35,500 from capital resources to carry out desilting work at the pond and to remedial works to improve safety along the south bank.
District councillors will also be asked for a further 1,400 for
drainage ditch clearance work next to Taylors Field to rectify flooding along the footway.
In a report to the meeting, officers said a 30,000 traditional dredging scheme was carried out at the pond in 2002.
The dredgings were pumped to settlement lagoons on farmland away from the site.
The material was then used as a soil improver.
But, officers said: "The method is no longer an option due to permission required from local landowners."
A state-of-the-art 'geotextile-assisted dewatering scheme' last year was ruled out on the grounds of cost.
Earlier this year the council carried out a 19,500 partial dredging project, removing a sandbar and reinstating an eroded bank to improve safety.
"Following these works the contractor was requested to submit a proposal for additional dredging in order to clear the main areas of sedimentation around the islands and close to the footbridge."
Due to the requirements of Natural England and the Environment Agency to take into account the nesting season, CDC officers say work should begin in the third week of January and would take around four weeks to complete.
The report warned the main Jubilee path and the paths around the pond would need to be closed during the work.
The site proposed for the disposal of the sediment taken from the pond was, said the report, already a grassed area with some natural springs which could occasionally flood the footpath and create a risk of ice during winter.
"It is proposed to provide additional land drainage in this area to assist the drying-out of the deposited silt and also improve the footpath at the same time."
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Weather for Midhurst
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 14 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
