Restoration of dilapidated Bristol Victorian lake begins

It is hoped the work will be completed by next spring or summer

A project to restore a Victorian lake in a park, costing almost half a million pounds, has begun.

The work on the lake in St George Park, in Bristol, is set to continue over the next six months at a cost of £400,000.

The restoration will include footpath and wall repairs, new wetland areas and a new boardwalk that will allow children to watch and learn about its wildlife.

Park volunteers said the swans will be temporarily rehomed in the meantime.

The restoration will include footpath and wall repairs, new wetland areas and a new boardwalk

Friends of St George Park member Christine Cuthberts said "it's been a very long process" to get the repairs sorted.

"Because it's over 100 years old it's started to deteriorate. There's quite a lot of work the council has to do," she said.

"There is a lot of wildlife around the lake. Quite a lot of the birds will fly to the Netham when the lake is emptied and we may get swan rescue teams to come in and help."

Bristol's deputy mayor said the dilapidation of the lake had been an issue "for a long time".

A Bristol City Council spokesperson said: "We have to remove and rebuild the existing lake edge wall in stages so that the footpath doesn't collapse.

"We've also allowed more time for bad weather, because we're doing the work in winter and early spring."

'Budget challenges'

Deputy Mayor of Bristol, Asher Craig said the dilapidation of the lake had been an issue "for a long time".

"You cant walk right around the park because of the crumbling wall and that's on the side where the water inlet [for the lake] is," she said.

"Since 2016, we were facing real budget challenges, there was no budget capital at that time to repair the lake."

She said the park benefitted from funding secured in 2019 by the Friends of St George Park, to carry out a consultation which resulted in a plan to create a wetland area.

"The parks team does have a maintenance budget. I cant wait for the walkway to reopen, hopefully next spring or summer," she added.

Bristol City Council apologised for any disruption the repairs may cause to people using the park and said it expected the work to be completed by next spring or summer.