Happy New Year from the Priddy Parish Environmental Working Group!

Priddy Parish Council have been awarded a FiPL grant from Mendip Hills National Landscape to restore Townsend Pool.

Townsend Pool has not been functioning as a pond for many years and we are delighted that we have been successful in securing a grant to reinstate it.

The programme of works will take place in January (weather willing!). The pond area will be cleared of trees and dug out with an excavator.  A team of volunteers will work with the excavator to line the pond with a bentonite clay liner – it’s a bit like lining a pie tin with pastry! We will then put a layer of substrate over the liner and plant the edges with reeds that are already present.  We will allow the pond to refill naturally with rainwater.

We will endeavour to keep disruption to a minimum and we will put a few road cones around the junction to make traffic aware that we are working on the corner of the village.  Once the pond is functioning again, we will monitor carefully to see what species start to colonise it.  The local Reptile and Amphibian Group (RAG) have very kindly offered to help out with the restoration and long-term monitoring. We will of course keep you all updated with our progress.

In other news, our next EWG meeting will be at the Queen Vic on January 20^th at 7pm. Everyone is welcome to attend and please don’t forget to come along to our Freecycle event in the Priddy Village Hall on February 1^st!

For more information on all things environmental, please do get in touch! We are looking forward to working with you to ensure that we have a wonderful biodiverse year in our beautiful Priddy Parish.

Happy New Year to you all!

Jen Nightingale Clements

j.clements@priddyparish.gov.uk