Frustrated residents protest state of beloved pond

About 60 protesters gathered in Royal Victoria Park

A large group of people staged a protest over the state of a beloved duck pond that has dried up in a historical city park.

The pond, which is located in Bath's Royal Victoria Park, used to be fed by a natural spring, but the water supply was diverted a few years ago to stop nearby properties flooding. Since then, the pond has relied on rainwater.

The protestors clashed with a Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) councillor earlier and said the authority had its priorities "all wrong".

Oli Henman, cabinet project lead for climate, said: "I share the frustrations of many of the residents and I'm really committed to finding a way forward."

About 60 protestors gathered in the park to express their concerns.

With the slogan "Mallards not bollards", the group rallied for the council to spend less time installing traffic management bollards in the city and to instead focus on getting the pond fixed.

The pond was due to undergo £75,000 worth of restoration work in 2023, but the project was delayed.

Mark Stricklin, one of the campaigners, said the council "dropped the ball".

"They knew this was coming, they knew this wasn't an overnight thing, this isn't a hole that has appeared and all the water has gone," he said.

"This has gradually drifted away and slowly died over the course of probably three or four years."

Mark Stricklin has fond childhood memories of the duck pond

He said he had fond memories of the pond after spending time there as a child, before taking his own children.

"This is something that stretches across all generations, and it's our duty to leave this in the condition we found it," Mr Stricklin said.

"This is Bath, and the whole Bath ethos is you come here, you live in a beautiful city, you take advantage of the resources that we've been left behind by previous generations. We can't leave this for our kids."

Oli Henman is the council's cabinet project lead for climate

Mr Henman said: "We absolutely understand how valuable this pond is and Victoria Park as a whole.

"We want to see this as a great asset thriving, biodiverse, a beautiful space that we'll bring back to life over the coming months."

He added that the council had been in contact with Wessex Water to find a solution, but no date to begin work has been set.

Although the supplier has never provided the pond with water, a spokesperson from the company said it will "remain committed" to supporting the council to fix the problem.