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In the last 100 years, 500,000 ponds in the UK have been lost. This includes many sites in Thanet.
There is a great opportunity to create more ponds. Those privileged enough to have a garden should seriously consider one. This would again potentially help reduce rainwater runoff, bring biodiversity into your garden and can greatly improve garden aesthetics and tranquillity.
In December 2023, new legislation came into force for new developers to comply to a 10% increase in biodiversity net gain above the biodiversity level that was on a proposed new housing development site in the first place. Pond inclusions on developments would not only help developers meet these biodiversity net gain legal requirements, they would again help reduce rainwater runoff whilst creating great habitats for wildlife and enjoyment for new residents.
Together with the rainwater catchment systems, serious consideration should be given to include ponds on new housing developments, with caveats relating to management and safety consideration to be highlighted to any new purchasers. One hopes developers will consider this approach.
Ponds are like magnets for wildlife and can improve people’s enjoyment of their gardens with relatively little maintenance required. Educating children about water and being sensible around it is important and will encourage children to appreciate the wildlife that lives in and visits ponds, and one hopes, will help develop children’s recognition of nature’s importance.
Water reservoirs for farms are important to supplement water availability in drought periods for crops and animals. However, they surely should be landscaped with some graduated sides, not the death traps of vertical sides that for some reason many seem to have.
One hopes the government’s new environment land management scheme will now prompt farmers to be more conscious of the way they set up any new reservoirs on their farms and adjust the current ones accordingly.
The Kent countryside (including Thanet) has lost 75% of its ponds in the last 100 years.
Traditionally, ponds were used as a water source for people and livestock with most villages having one. Some had flint bases to enable carts to be driven in and have their wheels washed. As water became more readily available, ponds were not as necessary in daily life and so many became neglected.
Education from a safety perspective is clearly important and can be addressed with safety interpretation signs near to ponds in public spaces. However, there has to be public personal responsibility too.
Want to know more about ponds? Visit the links for reference below.
Written by:
Kevin Pressland
Professional Horticulturalist/Permaculturalist