Mill Pond

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A Great day on Glassmill

The work party last Sunday (17th), organised by Thames21 on the Glassmill Pond, was a great success. With some 15 volunteers attending, our primary task was to repair a serious leak, that if not resolved, may have impacted pond levels in the medium term. This task involved people getting dirty pushing ‘puddling clay’ into the gap and ramming it in really hard, thereby forming a good seal. While it involved others moving the clay to where needed, Nick and Christine had the important job of ‘puddling the clay’ itself.

Other activities involved cutting back some invasive foliage, litter picking and collecting loads of golf balls located in the water, wash down from an upstream driving range!

Finally it required a large number of volunteers to move the still very heavy clay to within the fenced off area, ready for later use. Phew!

A great day on Glassmill!

The end of a very satisfactory day indeed, thanks to all those taking part………..

However there remains more work to be done. If you are interested in taking part in future Thames21 organised work party events on this site, the next two events are on Friday 22nd November and Sunday 8th December. There will also be three further events early in 2025. To find out more about all these events and how to book a place, please goto https://www.thames21.org.uk/events/ and look for Glassmill Pond.

You can find out more about our work on this site HERE

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Fishing in Glassmill!

Netting the fish

As part of the refurbishment project, on 21st March the water level in the pond was drastically reduced. Beforehand however a specialist contractor was on site to collect all the fish in the pond, they were recorded then released safely downstream. Altogether some 140 three-spined sticklebacks, 2 small roach and 3 eels, the largest being 79cm long, were collected.

Large eel caught

The water flow was carefully measured. Then with the weir boards removed the water level reduced rapidly at first, exposing more of the silt deposited over many years.

Exposed silt, with river channel bottom

The newly exposed silt now will be allowed time to dry out, before contractors are able to move in to excavate and reuse the silt to recreate a working river channel and a separate pond, that fish, eels etc can thrive in.

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Our parks in winter

During the recent snow our parks temporarily took on a different appearance. While carefully negotiating the paths, trying not to slip on the paths o, our green spaces became even more magical. With everyone elsewhere busily shopping for Christmas it was very quiet. Inevitably over the coming days this changes, but our parks still remain a special place for both local residents and visitors – right in the town centre.

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Glassmill refurbishment project update

As part of our ongoing project to bring this historic mill pond back to its earlier glory, we continue to work with other parties to greatly enhance its historic and ecological value. Led by Thames21 this project also involves amongst other stakeholders; Bromley council (as site owner), Environment Agency, Thames Water, and of course our Friends group.

Last Friday, Thames21 staff met up with Friends at the site, off Glassmill Lane, to carry out an important survey of the pond. They measured those features required to refine the design of the renovated pond, and for an important food risk assessment.

Tony Banfield (left) with T21 team
Feeling their way
Measuring position
Measuring an island
Thames21 Survey

This flood risk assessment, and approval by the Environment Agency to dredge and reuse the silt as part of the new pond design, is critical to this project being viable. This decision is complicated by some of the silt samples previously found to contain medium levels of pollution. To read about the background to this pond and its refurbishment go HERE.

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Glassmill: Sampling

Today a member of Thames21 visited the site to take additional samples of the silt which has accumulated over the years. These samples will be tested in a laboratory to assess the levels of pollutants, and if they are within official Environment Agency limits.

Taking a silt sample
Taking a silt sample

This follows earlier samples, a couple of which contained higher levels of pollutants. We are hoping that these new samples will be within limits, and so our project to refurbish this historic pond can receive necessary approvals, allowing us to proceed with funding, etc.

You can find out more about our project on this page Mill Pond and Ravensbourne restoration