Wildlife concern after pond accidentally drained

A campaigner has warned it could take years for wildlife to recover after a pond on the Nottinghamshire-Derbyshire border was mistakenly drained.

Bolsover District Council is carrying out an £850,000 project on historic water infrastructure near the River Meden at Pleasley Vale to reduce flood risks to surrounding properties.

But as part of this, water was let out of a large pond nearby, which Cheryl Martins, of Mansfield Wildlife Rescue, said had left a wide variety of animals without vital habitat and food sources during a crucial time of year.

The council said the "unfortunate" pond drain happened accidentally during maintenance to sluice gates and a wildlife recovery plan was in place.

Martins said she had been alerted to the problem by workers at the nearby mills.

She added: "I was distraught. The pond was literally bare - there was no water in it at all, it was just mud.

"The swans were trying to slide across the mud to get to what little water there was from a small stream.

"The island in the middle had been totally chopped down, there are like three trees left, all the other vegetation has gone.

"That is the nesting area for the swans and it is just empty."

The impact would be felt across the local ecosystem, including toads, kingfishers and other waterfowl, Martins warned.

"The wildlife that was there has been disrupted. We probably won't have a breeding season now and we may have lost them," she said.

"It is going to have a massive impact. It is going to take years for the pond and its wildlife to recover".

Before work started, the council had said an ecological baseline study had confirmed "low levels of biodiversity on the site".

The authority said it was working with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust to mitigate the impact of work

A council spokesperson said the authority acknowledged the timing of the works was "unfortunate", but added maintenance could not be carried out in winter "due to the high water levels within the culverts and watercourse which presents different safety concerns for the workforce".

"There has been a full fish recovery and relocation of brown trout present on site," they added.

"A habitat assessment of the millponds identified that there was potential to improve their biodiversity value and so although there will be temporary impacts to the habitat while the works are undertaken, the programme of work will be of benefit to wildlife in the long term."

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