Brooklands Lake and Parkland

Five Rivers Environmental Contracting has been chosen to revive much-loved Brooklands lake has promised to deliver an ambitious improvement project with work scheduled to start this autumn.

The company, which was awarded the contract by Worthing Borough Council, after a competitive tendering process, expects the work to take 12 weeks weather permitting.

Five Rivers will have to remove 15,000 cubic metres of silt, the equivalent of six Olympic-sized swimming pools, which has built up in the lake which will then be used to create new margins and a new island in the middle.

Trees will be planted on the island and a boardwalk will be created over new reedbeds in the margins. A special bank which it is hoped will attract nesting and feeding kingfishers and sandmartins is also to be created.

Worthing Borough Council’s Executive Member for the Environment, Cllr Diane Guest, said, “I’m really excited by these plans from Five Rivers. I am confident the company will restore the lake to its full glory and help improve the park for generations to come.

“I will be watching the work with a great deal of excitement.”

The council acted last year after concerns about the environmental impact of the build-up of silt in the eight-acre lake.

To avoid similar problems in future Five Rivers will be narrowing the Teville stream and in front of the Brooklands cafe. Silt traps will also be installed to help stop debris finding ts way to the bottom of the lake.

“We are really looking forward to working the council and the Friends of Brooklands lake to improve the area with this ambitious improvement project,” said Five Rivers project manager Jacob Dew.

“Our works will help to create new marginal zones and more defined diverse habitats that we hope have the potential to attract a variety of species to the area.”

Five Rivers has previously worked on bio engineered protection of the River Rother in East Sussex, improvements to the River Lambourn to help fish breeding and work to restore four stretched of the River Nar in Norfolk.

Local residents were key in calling for improvements to Brooklands lake and now with the help of the borough council a Friends of Brooklands Park group has been set up which will have a major say in the future direction of the popular attraction.

Worthing’s parks department is invited anyone interested in joining the group to attend a special meeting at the Richmond Rooms, Stoke Abbott Road on August 8 at 6.30pm.

Cllr Guest will be attending as will members of the council’s park ranger team.