Tree risk lake smaller than originally thought

A lake where a council wants to remove trees for safety improvement works is smaller than originally thought, a new survey has shown.

Cheshire East Council is seeking to remove trees at Poynton Pool for safety reasons, which it said it is legally required to do because it is classed as a reservoir, due to the volume of water it contains.

But an Environment Agency report found Poynton Pool’s volume is around 75,000 cubic metres including water and silt - significantly less than the council’s previous estimate of 130,000 cubic metres.

The council said the change to the volume was one of "several matters under review".

A number of trees are at risk at the site

Poynton Pool is an ornamental pond dating back to around 1750.

Campaigners have raised concerns about the plans for the site and came up with an alternative proposal which involves the loss of significantly fewer trees.

The Friends of Poynton Pool (FoPP) said it welcomed the new survey and hoped the results would "encourage council planners to engage in dialogue to discuss the results and their alternative proposals".

A survey to measure Poynton Pool was completed by the Environment Agency in August 2024.

It shows the maximum depth of the pond is 2.82 metres and it contains 75,598 cubic metres of water and silt - about 40% of this is silt.

The report said that it was still classed as a reservoir because it has a volume greater than 25,000 cubic metres.

The report, which has been redacted in places, said it was "considered possible that, in the event of an uncontrolled release of water, human life could be endangered".

As a result, it should be classed as "high risk".

Protests took place last summer over the plans

FoPP chairman Mike Ellison said: "FoPP appreciates the additional investigations that Cheshire East and the Environment Agency are undertaking to investigate the concerns raised by the local community.

"Cheshire East has indicated that they will arrange a collaborative meeting with FoPP and Poynton Town Council in due course once all the new information is available."

Cheshire East Council said: "The recently completed bathymetric survey report does confirm a revised total volume for the reservoir.

"It is one of several matters under review and consideration by the council as the body with overall management responsibilities for the reservoir.

"Any reservoir with a volume greater than 25,000 cubic metres is still classed as a high risk and the dam categorisation is highly unlikely to change."