Apology over Plymouth ponds project

More than 3,000 sign petition

Councillors have apologised for a lack of communication when a project to tackle flooding in Plymouth’s Central Park suffered major delays.

More than 3,000 angry residents who experienced disruption over two years signed an online petition calling for the city council to take action.

The work to create two new ponds and a sustainable drainage system in the Barn Park end of Central Park began at the end of 2022 but later stalled because of bad weather and issues with the contractor.

Large areas of the park had been fenced off, trees felled, and paths made inaccessible without warning, it was claimed.

The council’s housing and communities scrutiny panel was told residents and park users felt “fobbed off and ignored” when information boards were not updated and there was little response to concerns raised or the wrong information conveyed.

“Fix Our Park” petition organiser Amanda Pannell said their “beautiful park had been turned into a building site and a mud moonscape” and “plastered with fences and unwelcome and ugly hazard signs “ over two summers.

She said for a place that should support health and wellbeing, it became source of stress, frustration and increasing anger.

The petition was “the only way of bringing this to the attention of the council to make our voices heard,” she said.

“Work started again in August, I like to think it was the petition that helped that and we had meetings on site, However it stalled again until we had a second meeting.

“It very much feels like nothing happens unless the residents shout loudly and, quite frankly, it is exhausting,” she said.

The council’s cabinet member for the environment and climate change Tom Briars-Delve (Lab, Stoke) apologised for the delays and said he fully accepted that at the time of the petition this July and August, the project was “not in a good state”.

The contractors had withdrawn because of the very wet weather – there was almost double the amount of normal rainfall in March – and, because of contractual issues, had not returned.

Since then the situation had improved and fencing had reduced where possible. A ‘frequently asked questions’ section is now on the council’s website about the project.

Over the coming months, land drainage of the pitch fields would be complete, fields reinstated and further tree planting and landscaping carried out. The scheme would be completed next summer.

Panel chairman Lee Finn (Con, Budshead) said: “We hold our hands up and apologise as a council to all stakeholders for a lack of communication. We will learn lessons from this.”

The panel agreed to develop a  comprehensive communications plan, regular updates and clear signage and outline of the project plan..

The Barn Park area of Central Park has been prone to flooding following heavy rain for decades. When complete, the pond project should use rainwater as a resource for wildlife and the community.

It involves re-landscaping the area and solving flooding using a sustainable drainage system (SUDS) to manage surface water.

The project will enlarge the previously inaccessible pond and create two others and there will also be a swale – a shallow channel to capture water run-off – to allow nature to reduce localised flooding.

There will be wildflower meadows, walkways and viewing platforms with seating and provide space for outdoor learning.

Cllr Patrick Nicholson (Ind, Plympton St Mary) who approved the business case when he was a member of the Conservative administration in January 2022, said this was phase three of the £9 million Central Park improvements and were the most challenging.

He said it must not be forgotten that the council had provided a cafe, improved many playing pitches, drainage and surfaces.

And he said the project could not be delivered without taking out trees to provide space for the pond.

Cllr Jeremy Goslin (Lab, Peverell) said there had been much consultation with Friends of Central Park and numerous amendments made to the plan and leaflet drops to local people two years before the project started.

If they had gone with what the Friends wanted with a boating lake and waterfalls it would have taken a lot longer, he told the panel. “This is a scaled down version.”