Dedham Vale National Landscape team awarded Nayland Meadow Limited, a registered charity, £22,106 of Farming in Protected Landscapes funding to restore a large pond in the Stour Valley. The pond was originally constructed by the Environment Agency in 2005, but over the intervening two decades had become progressively silted up, with vegetation from the pond’s margins encroaching deep into the open water. The project aimed to reverse that decline - restoring biodiversity, reopening habitat for a range of species, and improving a site enjoyed by walkers on the adjacent Stour Valley Path.
The pond before restoration.
Restoring the pond
The pond is directly connected to the River Stour and is home to a rich diversity of water voles, breeding birds and other wildlife. By October 2025 though, reeds had encroached into the water to a depth of 13 metres in places, significantly reducing the area of open water and damaging habitat health.
The FiPL grant paid for restoration work – removing the accumulated silt to return water depth its original level and cutting back the marginal vegetation, while retaining enough to continue supporting wildlife. The presence of water voles meant that the Nayland Meadow team needed to get a Protected Species Licence before work could begin and carefully ensuring their habitat would be disturbed as little as possible.
The Environment Agency removed fish from the pond ahead of works. The team then temporarily isolated the pond from the river to allow it to drain down, pumping water back into the river, and removing silty water onto the adjoining meadow. After desilting, water levels could then be allowed to rebalance through the existing connection to the river. The team sowed wildflower seeds into the excavated silty soil alongside the pond with flowering expected from spring 2027.
Fish were carefully removed while the works proceeded.
Benefits for wildlife and people
The newly restored pond now provides ideal conditions for water voles, breeding waterbirds, aquatic invertebrates and fish. More open water means a better backwater habitat for fish, and they can now move freely between the river and the pond.
For people, there are great benefits too. The pond sits immediately alongside the Stour Valley Path, and footpath users now enjoy a greatly improved wildlife habitat as they pass. The Nayland Meadow team is now hoping to construct a short boardwalk and viewing platform along the edge of the pond, giving visitors the chance to see the pond and its wildlife up close. The pond restoration was designed with this future access project in mind, helping to maximise the value it will offer to the public for years to come.
The pond after restoration.
