This is one a a series of articles published in Longstanton Life between February 2016 and the present, showing just how often dire warnings were issued about the destruction of Longstanton’s groundwater, and just how often they were ignored by those whose duty it was to take timely action.
Hilary Stroude wrote
Kingfisher Pond Latest
The state of the Kingfisher Pond, as seen by the photographs all taken on the 8/9/2019, could hardly be worse! What has become of SCDC’s promise to restore it to its treasured natural state? By the evidence of these pictures, it seems to have come to nothing.
First it lost water, coincidentally at the same time as the start of the drainage of the Northstowe Phase 1 land, then weeds and sedge began to take over. Surrounding trees began to die as a result of their roots being exposed. An amount of flytipping has also taken place.
Surely, the trashing of this natural feature, formerly the source of so much local pride, is equivalent to an ecological ‘war crime’ and is unforgivable?
To think that it was only a very short time ago, Jeff Harrison, Longstanton’s own wildlife photographer, was regularly contributing to Longstanton Life glorious pictures of Kingfishers living and breeding in harmony with the environment that this pond once provided.
Since it became clear that such a delicate ecological feature was in danger of being destroyed by over an enthusiastic commercial development of land, LDHS have featured the plight of the Kingfisher Pond in several issues of the Longstanton Life over recent years – the last being for our Feb-Mar update.
New readers of these columns maybe asking, why LDHS considers the fate of the Kingfisher Pond to be so important? Longstanton’s rural heritage, included several ponds previously in harmony with their surroundings. Since development of the area began in 2015, these features have been all but decimated. The jury maybe still be out regarding the reason why the village ponds have lost their water but, the same cannot be said of the Kingfisher Pond. These photographs clearly show how close development has come to the pond: at least one public footpath now runs alongside one side of the pond and where tree cover now appears to be missing!