Scheme to restore lakes back to 'beauty spots' approved by councillors

Lottery-funded organisation Growing Together Northampton submitted a planning application to Northampton Borough Council to save the beauty spots at the Billing Brook Lakes.

Now spoiled with rubbish and pollution, the group hopes that their plan to re-distribute sediment from within the lakes to form channels, new islands and marginal wetland habitats will breathe new life into the lakes.

Sediment traps and sloped bank edges will be created to improve free flowing water and safer banks, as in some places these are quite steep and have been identified as a safety hazard.

The three lakes, Kingfisher Lake, Cygnet Lake and Dragonfly Lake have in recent years been polluted by fuel oil, engine oil, transmission oil and brake fluid being dropped accidentally by lorries parked by the side of the road.

Peter Strachan, the Big Local programme co-ordinator, told councillors: “The origins of this application are in extensive community consultation that we did back in 2015.

“The whole point is to change the way the water flows through the lake, and the silt that then flows down is trapped in particular areas, which makes it easier for the council to dredge it. We want the lakes deeper, narrower and fast flowing.”

Councillors approved the scheme, of which the Environment Agency was a partner, last Tuesday (July 31) at The Guildhall.