Building a pond/lake

[George]

Does anyone know whether I need planning permission (or any other permissions) to dig a quarter acre size pond?

 

Current land use is agricultural permanent pasture. There is an adjacent brook which is not an EA main river. Ground is clay and water table quite close to the surface.

 

[cwr]

I've no idea, but would a call to your local planning office not give you some idea of feasibility and what would be required, if anything?

 

I'm intrighed by the idea, and am sure there are some interesting challenges to a project like this. How to maintain water level for example, popping a hose in for a hour would hardly make a difference, or do you just rely on the brook?  Do keep us posted on how it goes. 

[fatgus]

Really interested to follow this... it's one of our longer term plans too, in our otherwise really rather dull, flat field. We're in the Brecon National park and it's certainly a planning matter, but maybe you'll be luckier?

[saveasteading]

I would at least write a letter to planning, " as a courtesy," with plan, and ask them to advise if they needed any more information.

 

f1/4 acre is a lot of water.

In a newbuild situation, a pond is often ideal for holding rainwater.

In open countryside it may be different as the rain may be percolating perfectly well, even to an aquifer. 

 

The advice I had on pond planting was not to. Just let nature take over. Also whether to line it or "puddle" the clay, the answer was no. If it dries out in summer that us again the natural cycle.

 

May I ask what you want from a pond?

 

[sharpener]

 

On 04/08/2023 at 12:08, saveasteading said:

If it dries out in summer that us again the natural cycle.

 

I was told by LAPD in respect of the neighbour building up the level of his garden that changes of level of less than +/- 1m do not require PP. After 3 yrs it is "established" and so you can do it again ad infinitum. I guess if a 1.9m depression fills with water as a result of forces of nature they cannot argue that you must drain it.

 

[saveasteading]

19 hours ago, sharpener said:

building up the level of his garden that changes of level of less than +/- 1m do not

Yes, ive had 1m or 4ft applied often. But you say building up, and that has always been the case with me,

Does it apply to digging out? Or to digging out and filling around?.

 

On 04/08/2023 at 12:08, saveasteading said:

May I ask what you want from a pond?

 

 

[ToughButterCup]

On 22/07/2023 at 12:27, George said:

Does anyone know ...

No, I don't know. 

 

But I now know that I'd just do it and wait for the sheety letter, lose that and then wait for the visit .

 

In the meantime I'd have bought a Rhodesian Ridgeback , feed it every other week, put razor wire up round the field and then let Tiddles loose on anyone from the LPA. 

 

Cynical? Me? Just describing how our nextdoor neighbour approached exactly the same question.

 

The difference.... ? His pond forms every time his open cesspit overflows. Why you can even see it in Google maps, but it's more detailed on Google Earth.

I'm waiting with not quite baited breath for the next naughty child passerby to think it a wheeze to play near the cesspit, fall in. I have a life belt ready. 

 

I am Not Joking.

 

Our pond raised zero interest from the LPA and less than zero interest from the BCOs. 

[sharpener]

5 hours ago, saveasteading said:

Does it apply to digging out? Or to digging out and filling around?.

My 1.9m was assuming you can therefore change any point by +/- 1m so you can excavate a 0.95m hole and then build a 0.95 high bund round it.

[twice round the block]

I contacted the environment agency, explained what I wanted to do.

They sent one of their engineers down for a site meeting, who was very knowledgeable and came up with some great ideas of diverting a feeder stream while I had a 22 ton excavator in.

Four months later we had a landscaped acre lake, complete with fishing stages and a boat dock and thousands of margin and water plants in place.

You need somewhere to loose the muck, and there will be plenty, and it's too costly to truck it away.

[saveasteading]

3 minutes ago, twice round the block said:

and it's too costly to truck it away

And a bad thing!

 

4 minutes ago, twice round the block said:

diverting a feeder stream

Might this reduce flooding downstream?

[gc100]

1 hour ago, saveasteading said:

And a bad thing!

 

Might this reduce flooding downstream?

not if it feeds back (aside from evaporation)

 

A 1/4 acre will produce a LOT of non-top soil so you need to have a plan for that as spreading it about its will be crap grown anything, unless you scape back the top soils first 

[saveasteading]

1 hour ago, gc100 said:

And a bad thing!

 

Might this reduce flooding downstream?

As you say, a high proportion of non soil, which farmers will often take, never mind smothering a field or filling in a natural hollow.

Actually, not the farmers but the landowners.

 

Yes, the stream may flow out again, but  there is  a large bottom surface for soaking away, a large top surface for evaporation, and the transpiration of the plants. I expect someone has worked it out.

And in drought the stream will not fill the pond and there may be some flash flood retention.

See what a good thing you are doing?

[gc100]

Not that I’m doing it but it depends really . Ponds can be a haven for wildlife so not all bad. Depends on the source of water and what’s after it downstream. 

[Onoff]

Is the pond close to the house? 

 

Maybe use the lake for a heat pump? Lots of pipe, special, "safe", glycol maybe I think too.

[twice round the block]

On 22/07/2023 at 12:27, George said:

Does anyone know whether I need planning permission (or any other permissions) to dig a quarter acre size pond?

 

Current land use is agricultural permanent pasture. There is an adjacent brook which is not an EA main river. Ground is clay and water table quite close to the surface.

 

Can you tap into the adjacent brook?

 

Does the brook flow all year?

 

If you can't feed your pond with a 4 inch pipe from the brook you may struggle to keep your pond in the summer month's, as the wind and sun will evaporate all the water fast.

 

How are you going to line your pond to make it water tight?

 

Can you put a sluice in the other end of the pond to return water to the brook.?

 

Any pond where the water does not circulate will soon become stagnant.

 

Water running from a brook will also contain silt particles, these will reduce levels in a pond fast if not controlled especially from a fast flowing brook. 

 

The above are problems I had to overcome to make it all work.

The only publication I could find on the subject at the time was pond and lakes from the game conservatory that had some useful information in it.

 

 

[saveasteading]

4 hours ago, twice round the block said:

How are you going to line your pond to make it water tight?

That is a water feature. It will still evaporate at up to 10mm/ day. or more if exposed to the wind.

 

Were we discussing duckweed on here, or was it another discussion? anyway, it was covered on Beechgrove Garden to day (I-player) 

They waded in and netted it out , saying that would be the end of it this year, with so much nitrogen removed in the weed.