IMAGE CREDIT: Dianne Dear
Management plan for Westham Village Pond
Plans posted by Westham Parish Council have been called into question by campaigners as the management of Westham Village Pond takes the next step forward.
On Monday October 15, in what was seen as a major turnaround, Westham Parish Council voted unanimously to spend up to £60,000 to de-silt and remove the silt from the pond.
At the time of the meeting, an indication was also given by the parish council that they may be able to apply for a grant to help with the costs of the de-silting exercise.
After six years of what Westham campaigners describe as mis-management of the pond, the sudden decision has been greeted with enthusiasm by parishioners.
The pond is currently a mix of sludge and algae, which Westham Parish Council has described as normal for this time of the year, particularly since we have had such a hot summer.
Campaigners have poo-pooed the idea. How they ask, could this be the case since the mis-management of the pond by the parish council has been in evidence for 5-6 years, since February 2013, they argue.
A degree of harmony, or at least progress, was restored at the parish council meeting on October 15, following the meeting held last month which was an example of spectacular dysfunction.
At one point a councillor appeared to describe the assembled audience as clowns, which has led to a call that he resign.
The meeting is reported here and is to feature as the lead story in edition 22 of the Pevensey Bay Journal, published on 27 October.
Perhaps the fact that the BBC came calling last week (11 October) to hear what both campaigners and councillors had to say about the state of the pond, energised the council in the decision making process.
Chairman Keith Stephens, took pains to explain to the many Westham parishioners that turned up to see the outcome of the debate that he ‘was listening’.
By the third time that he uttered the phrase last night, the audience had got the message.
They accepted his sentiment.
For six years the council appears to have obfuscated over the pond. Suddenly everything has changed.
A management plan demanded by the parishioners has been passed by the council.
Councillors have had chance to study the plan.
Only a cynic would argue that the council has been forced to make a decision with regard to the foundation of a management plan, also including parishioners, because the BBC came calling.
The turnaround of events has taken a long time.
The step forward to a draft management plan has led to further comments by campaigners.
Owner of the enterprising Vines Flowers business, Jo Belcher, who has been instrumental in the campaign to see the fortunes of the village pond restored, posted a number of comments at the time of the decision to subside the pond and see the pond de-silted with up to £60,00 being spent by the council
“We would like to thank the Chairman of Westham Parish Council for asking his Councillors to vote on whether to de-silt or not our precious pond .
“I am so pleased to announce that Westham Chairman put it to his Councillors and they voted to de-silt.
“It is just sad that the pond has got to this state . A draft pond management plan has now been discussed and will be implemented when Councillors have had a chance to read it and approve it .
“This is amazing news for the pond and a huge thank you to councillor Durling who has campaigned for the pond for a long time now .
“Westham Parish Council you have never been transparent. I am presuming you have had a qualified pond expert to write the new draft plan, please could you confirm this and be transparent as to who it is .
“So thank you Mr Chair of Westham Parish Council for listening and speaking to your council and to all Councillors who voted for the pond for taking a step to resolve the issue of the silt”
Now the draft plan is available to view, a number of new questions have emerged.
Christine Fenner, another Westham campaigner, has pointed to an element in the commissioned report by Westham Parish Council that appears to be open to question.
The author of the report, Robert Aquilina, a consulting ecologist specialising in all aspects of freshwater, brackish and wetland ecology and a recognised expert in this field of study, refers to grazing deer as being in possible evidence.
Campaigners described this element of the report as laughable since there are no deer seen beside the pond.
In response. Robert Aquilina told Bay Life today (25 October), “I stand by my observation about the possibility of deer grazing being something that might have happened
“What I would not want to see happen is that my remark in the report becomes a distraction.
“I am aware of all the disagreements about the pond, but these questions are not part of the report”,
“I was commissioned by the council to undertake this report, which I have done and I hope that the conclusion will be that the community will see a satisfactory result with the pond”
We have now read in full the report by Robert Aquilina which is detailed, expertly put together and informative. In particular the introduction and conclusion offer some useful insight.
Robert Aquilina says in the conclusion, in the report, Ecological Assessment of Westham village Pond, Westham 2018, for example, “it is good practice to publicise and explain why these actions are taken in order to encourage the local community to get involved and look after the pond”.
His recommendation is prescient and may provide a stepping stone to the next stage in the restoration of the pond.
The Westham Parish Council Pond draft pond management plan is available to browse here.
Westham residents are invited to comment on the plan before November 12.
Note
In conversation with Robert Aquilina today (October 25), he made the point that to focus with an article on the question of whether deer have been grazing at Westham Village pond would be bias and unfair. We are happy to accept this point and have revised this article to include a full assessment of his Ecological Assessment of Westham village Pond, Westham 2018 pond, together with his comments.
In addition in the article we have also offered a reminder to Westham village parishioners that they have the opportunity to comment on the draft Westham Parish Council pond management plan until November 12.
