Future of Cannop Ponds unveiled by Forestry England

Water from Cannop Ponds powered former ironworks in the 19th Century

The future of Cannop Ponds in the Forest of Dean has been revealed by Forestry England (FE).

It says one dam will be preserved, and the other will be turned into a "more natural" wildlife haven.

In 2022, FE suggested that the ageing dams may need draining, leading to protests from local residents.

A spokesperson said the decision will be "better for the future; for flood risk; for wildlife and for the community".

Forest of Dean residents and regular visitors have been campaigning for the dams, which were created in the 19th Century and remained unchanged since then, to be preserved.

FE's suggestion in 2022 to remove the dams was due to concerns over the risk of serious flooding in the surrounding area.

Other avenues were considered following protests and a survey, which showed that more than 60% of people wanted the ponds retained.

Forest of Dean residents have campaigned since 2022 for the dams to be preserved

A spokesperson said today that Upper and Lower Cannop will be worked on together to benefit the whole forest environment.

"Lower Cannop will remain a large body of water in the heart of the Forest of Dean," they said.

"Engineering works will be carried out to build a new, larger spillway and make the existing dam watertight.

"This work will be as sympathetic as possible, and meet modern engineering standards. It will increase resilience to extreme rainfall, make the Pond better at holding back storm water, and so protect local communities downstream."

Meanwhile, "a more natural approach" will be taken at Upper Cannop in a bid to minimise the engineering works that would be required.

There will be "a mixture of open water marsh and reedbeds to create a haven for wildlife to flourish and attract more native wildlife".

FE director of engineering Josh Howe said safety was the organisation's priority.

"The more we looked at what we would have to do to fix the issues, the more we could see opportunities to improve the whole site for the community and for wildlife, whilst also protecting those downstream," he said.

"We believe that this outline plan will future-proof Cannop Ponds for generations to come.

"It will also help the Forest of Dean be resilient to the changing climate, whilst continuing to support our precious wildlife during the biodiversity crisis."