6th September 2023
Even though ownership of the Kingfisher Pond has passed from Longstanton to Northstowe, many of us still feel a lot of affection for the old irrigation pond. It was full of water, fish, birds and other wildlife. I remember collecting fruit from an old crab apple tree on its bank.
No more. No more birds, no more wildlife, no more crab apples. No more water.
Instead we have sofas. This is the Kingfisher Pond in the summer of 2023. In the history of fly-tipping this must rate as quite an achievement. Getting two large sofas down to the pondside must have taken strength and ingenuity. And invisibility, since nobody seems to have noticed their arrival. It also involved destroying a couple of trees.
Sadly, the Kingfisher Pond has suffered many indignities over the last few seasons. It is, let’s be honest, no longer a pond. The shallower parts are now a forest, and the end where the water was slightly deeper is a jungle of reeds and junk. The water, which was pumped out as part of the dewatering undertaken when Northstowe was built, has never returned (despite repeated promises that it would…) The same dewatering that created a spectacular water park at one end of Northstowe also led to this festering mess at the other.
The Kingfisher Pond’s destruction is not unique. My second picture shows the state of the ornamental pond in Ladywalk. Until the end of July, an occasional glint of water could be detected through the dense overgrowth. As of August, the water has gone, along with the ducks who previously called this pond home. No ducks, no water…but at least there are no sofas. So far. The cause is the same – loss of groundwater due to negligent dewatering and inattention to its consequences.
The pond behind Hatton House still had some water last time I visited, but the level was the lowest it has been since the BBC visited in July last year.
Things are NOT returning to the normal we knew. Is this to be the new normal?