Plans to restore Falmer Pond would dredge its silt and add reed beds

A planning application to restore Falmer Pond is open for comments. The Brighton & Hove City Council^1,2 project aims to improve the water quality and the wildlife living in the pond.

The application, reference SDNP/26/03102/FUL, is with the South Downs National Park Authority^3,4. It covers management of trees, protection of the pond bank, works to a pipe at the end of the pond and dredging to remove silt.

The wider plan, budget and planning permission permitting, also includes cutting back some neighbouring trees to reduce the leaf litter that adds to the silt, restoring the pond edges so they hold water better and stop eroding, a natural filtration system such as reed beds, more water plants for wildlife, better water inlets and outlets, and a new interpretation board about the wildlife.

A lake, officially

Because of its size, Falmer Pond is registered as a freshwater lake by the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. Clay and sand under the basin help it hold the water flowing through the landscape, but long dry periods and drought can leave it with little or no water.

Feeding has caused problems too. Visitors feeding ducks and geese have led to unnaturally large numbers of waterfowl, the council says, which raises nutrient levels in the water, reduces native plants and encourages rats.

Swan mussels live in the pond. They are thought to have arrived naturally many years ago, can live for decades and survive drought by burrowing deep into the mud.

The story goes back much further. Fossils of seabed coral found in the area show that Falmer was covered by a warm, shallow tropical sea in the Late Cretaceous period, roughly 66 to 90 million years ago. The village name is thought to come from the Anglo-Saxon words fal and mere, meaning foul or brown water, and lake.

“This summer’s exceptionally hot weather has made us appreciate and value our precious ponds, streams and rivers more than ever,” said Alan Robins, the council’s cabinet member for sport, recreation and libraries.

Who is paying

The work is part of Downs to the Sea, a partnership of the South Downs National Park Trust, the South Downs National Park Authority, the RSPB, Western Sussex Rivers Trust, the council and Writing Our Legacy. The National Lottery Heritage Fund has given it £1.7m for the next three years. On the dry chalk ridge of the South Downs, 70% of ponds have been lost, the partnership says.

The council has committed £40,000 or 10% match funding for the Falmer Pond elements.

Site ranger Nick Lane is leading a series of community events at the pond, including guided tours, bat walks and practical conservation days. Sign-up is through the project’s page on the council’s Your Voice website.