Dismay, bewilderment and anger. Infill of Manor lake reaching end. Pump removed. 24th June 2023

Extraordinary events unfold in Russia with lightning speed. Prigozhin has rebelled against Putin and 'invaded' Russia from Ukraine. Effectively a coup attempt in every way except name.

Momentous times.

Back to our main feature. I've spoken to a number of people about the infill of Manor lake. One of these people's was part of the original design team that produced the plans for the restoration of Manor farm. She and others have confirmed what I have been saying all along: Manor lake should not have been filled in. Instead it should have been extended west to form one long lake that almost reaches the copse.

What is happening is nothing more than environmental vandalism, the destruction of a thriving and established eco-system. I have no idea how this got signed off, despite ecological surveys which the Inert site manager claims have taken place.

People are dismayed that the restoration isn't complete. It should have been so since last year.

They are bewildered as to why Manor lake has been filled in, and angered that it has been filled in.

The creation of yet more marsh land is not what we really need, seeing as the whole area is pretty much a marsh, with lots of low lying wetlands, crisscrossed with a myriad of drainage ditches.

Anyway, despite this, the end is FINALLY in sight. As I said three weeks ago, Inert have started to form the new shallow, featureless Manor lake by flattening all the stuff they had built up over the last year or so. However, this is not to say that Inert have stopped filling in what little remains of the deeper areas of Manor lake. Oh, no, not by a long shot. I saw yet more stuff being brought in, yes in, to the site on Tuesday!  Even when Inert have loads of piles of the stuff lying around.

Our long serving, faithful pump has been removed, and the wide channel serving as drainage has been filled in, sadly.

Photos are a bit murky as I was onsite at 5:30am this morning.