I knew I wasn't going insane. Changing restoration plans. 29th August 2022

I have been saying, for quite some time, that the new elongated Manor lake will stretch from where it is currently all the way west to almost reach the copse. And it would be a lake, as in deep water, lots of it.

Determined to prove my sanity, I went crawling over various planning applications on Wokingham Borough Planning website (which has a lousy search engine) and found this little beauty; the annotations in red boxes are mine.  This plan was from 2005!

Manor lake, as you can see, is one long lake. No wiggly bits, no extensive reed beds, etc.  Also, note the size of the new Finch pond and Colebrook channel leading to Longwater road. Finch pond is quite small, while Colebrook channel is quite straight; exactly what Inert have been constructing over the past couple of months.

Now fast forward to 2014. This is actually a plan which details Fully Restored areas of Manor Farm.
Manor lake, although still long and thin, is now largely reed beds, with small areas of deep water.
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Finch pond is now long and thin. Inert, however, appear to be constructing a short, stubby pond similar to that in the plan above. Colebrook channel is still a bit wiggly - which is not what Inert have constructed. Their causeway is straight.

Fast forward to March 2022, and we get this plan, showing fully restored areas. It isn't too different to the plan shown above; and it mainly details the restoration plan for this year. To confuse matters, it is also based on an older plan, which shows proposed extraction from Manor farm as restoration took place.
​What is interesting about this plan, is the area immediately to the south of Hawthorn lake. Compare it to the plan above, and you can see this plan says there is work still to be done, whilst the plan above says its complete.

In both cases, I cannot reconcile the banking around Higher reed bed and Main reed bed plan with what I see being constructed on the ground.

Finally, let us look at a Google Earth satellite photo from 2021.

Firstly, the south shore of Hawthorn lake bears no resemblance to any of the plans. A bit strange this, as I have walked along this lake, and can assure readers that it is very complete, very mature, with a very nice piece of banking; well used by badgers, foxes, deer and other animals.

Secondly, the east section of the Main reed beds conforms to the plans, including deeper areas.

Thirdly, the east section of Manor lake does conform to the plans, and you can just make out the deeper areas. What is heartening about this lake is that it does appear to be quite deep. Though I when I talked to the Inert Site manager, he did say they were ordered to open sluice gates to lower water levels. Sigh, I like deep, big lakes, and so do wildlife. It is very popular with birds.