BADSHOT Lea Pond has been transformed into a wildlife haven and a beautiful natural oasis for the community, thanks to support from the Tesco Bags of Help Initiative.

The work on the 200-year-old pond has helped to improve the water quality which will encourage wildlife to flourish and create a healthier eco-system.

By removing silt and vegetation, the pond now has an increased water holding capacity.

Together with a new raised bank to the south of the pond and a cleared outflow, this will help to reduce localised flooding and prevent water from flowing onto the road after heavy rainfall.

Other activities that were carried out as part of the project included constructing a woven hazel barrier to section off a new marsh area for reeds and water loving plants - created using the silt and vegetation cleared from the pond - and coppicing unstable willows and scrub around the pond, to increase light and reduce leaf litter.

The new marsh area will take a few months to settle so visitors are reminded not to cross the orange barrier netting boundary.

The work was enabled thanks to the Tesco Bags of Help scheme, which saw the supermarket team up with Groundwork to offer support to community projects in regions throughout the UK.

Waverley Borough Council was provided with £8,000 towards improvement works at the pond and the council also contributed £4,000.

Kevin Deanus, portfolio holder for community services at Waverley Borough, said: “Thanks to this project the area looks fantastic; it’s had a good tidy up and really is somewhere special that can be enjoyed by residents.

“It’s a great space to educate children about biodiversity or for someone to stop by on a tranquil and relaxing walk. 

“We will continue to work with the community to maintain this facility to benefit people and the ecosystem.

“The wildlife and native species will colonise naturally over the next few months and I’m looking forward to seeing how the area will flourish when nature takes it course.

“We have a volunteer task planned for February 2017 to clear rubbish and non-native species from the eastern boundary of the pond, so make sure you check the Waverley website for details in the coming months.”