General
Who are the Kings Pond Preservation Society?
We are a resident led group who favour keeping Kings Pond as a large body of water on the River Wey, much as it is now. We favour sympathetic improvements to the site which improve the environ for visitors and wildlife alike.
Does your group hold meetings?
Yes we do! Every month! Please head over to our meetings page for details of the next meeting. If you’d like to attend, please email kingspondpreservationsociety@gmail.com to express your interest.
Who are your meetings open to?
We welcome anyone who favours retaining the pond as a large body of open water on the River Wey. You don’t need to be a resident of Alton to attend, we only ask that you care about keeping the pond!
When and where are your meetings held?
Our meetings are usually held on a Monday night at the Conservative Club in Alton. We ask that you arrive from 6:30pm to give yourself time to get a drink and get comfortable, so as the meeting can start at 7pm. For meeting dates, please see our KPPS meetings page. Please email us if you’d like to attend!
How formal are your meetings?
We like to keep things very informal and friendly - they are more like a big conversation! You’re welcome to get yourself a drink from the bar too!
Is the Kings Pond Preservation Society aligned with any political party?
No - we are apolitical and therefore do not collectively support or align with any political party. People of all or no political leanings are welcome to join us.
Why are you authoring your own plan for Kings Pond?
We believe the council appears to favour the offline option for Kings Pond. They have approached the dredging option with a lack of ambition and no clear commitment to making other enhancements to the site. We have tirelessly championed the need for bigger picture thinking but have often been ignored. As Kings Pond exists for all residents of Alton, we think it’s important to collate all ideas into a vision which is far more representative of what people who use the facility want to see.
Fundraising
What do you use the funds you’ve raised through your Go Fund Me page for?
This helps to fund campaign materials and pay for experts to conduct site visits in order that we get the best possible information to support our plans and are in a position to share it with residents and visitors to the pond.
Can we see where the money has been spent?
Absolutely - we believe in being transparent and a financial update including expenses and income is disclosed at all of our meetings.
What will funds be spent on once a decision has been made on the pond?
If the pond is saved, we will use any excess funds to help implement projects aimed at improving the site for wildlife and visitors alike. Should the council proceed with an offline plan, we would consider using funding for a legal challenge.
Are any of your team paid?
No member of KPPS receives payment - we are a group of passionate volunteers who care about the pond.
Wildlife
Will we lose the swans if the council take Kings Pond offline?
Swans require a large surface area of water to take flight. They are the jumbo jets of the freshwater world! The councils published offline plans leave insufficient space for the swans to take flight and thus the birds would either be trapped or relocated from their home of over a decade! We feel this is unfair!
What impact will the offline plans have on fish eating birds?
We have been advised that fish stocks will dwindle on site under offline plans and thus the common sights of cormorants, herons, grebe, egret and kingfisher will be heavily reduced.
What impact will the offline plans have on the remaining wildlife?
The metrics we have seen suggest a net loss of wildlife as being between 50 and 80%. This is a huge loss and an irresponsible act in an urban setting which already poses huge barriers to wildlife.
How will your plans for Kings Pond improve wildlife?
Our plans for the site create new habitats and nesting areas aimed at supporting our current wildlife whilst encouraging new biodiversity.
Chalk Streams
Chalk streams are globally rare, why do you oppose restoring the Wey to a chalk stream?
We believe this is a pipe dream. Chalk streams are characterised by their incredibly pure water, which the Wey in Alton does not have. Countless drains and arable run off impact water quality and none of this is within the delegated authority of Alton Town Council to address. As such, at best, we believe that the council can create something which looks like a chalk stream but due to the water quality will not support the biodiversity synonymous with what should be expected of a chalk stream.
The council has said a chalk stream will increase biodiversity and improve their environs, is this true?
Given the loss of existing wildlife and the polluted water in the Wey, we do not believe that the plans would improve biodiversity. The council have not conducted any form of impact assessment for wildlife at this stage.
Council
Have the council made a decision on Kings Pond yet?
No - in theory two broad options remain which are to take the pond offline or to dredge it. Sadly however, much of the councils efforts have focused on the offline option. In fact at the time of their public briefing sessions, they had not engaged meaningfully with any dredging specialists and thus were unable to objectively present the dredging option and this we believe showed notable bias to the offline option.
Do the council have a mandate to proceed with offline plans?
This is a complex question. They do not have a mandate from the people of Alton as 11/13 councillors were either co-opted or faced an uncontested election. They have not engaged meaningfully with public opinion in their first two years of office. This said, before the last council left office, very much against public feeling, a number of measures were voted through which allowed money to be spent on investigative work.
We have been told the council favour the offline model because they want to build houses on the rest of the site, is this true?
It is important to note that the council have never publicly expressed such sentiments. This said, there is no legally protection for the land and thus cannot be eliminated as a possibility. There’s a precedence for house building along that side of Ashdell Road and given the likelihood that offline plans for the site will fail, we cannot rule out the prospect of that occurring. We believe the only failsafe means of protecting the site from future development is to retain the pond!
The council have described Kings Pond Supporters as “a small but vocal group”, what is your reflection on this statement?
From the conversations we have had - we believe support for the pond is wide spread. Unfortunately our group have been subject to a number of smears over the years which we feel to be inaccurate and inappropriate.
At the briefing sessions an Alton Town Councillor stated that campaigners had “hijacked” the pond debate, what is your reflection on this statement?
We feel this is a disingenuous statement to make. The opposition to plans for Kings Pond has been widespread and the council have failed to hold any form of meaningful engagement which addresses the concerns held, despite countless requests to do so. When a large proportion of the community oppose something, it is a democratic voice which should be duly heard and considered. It most certainly isn’t “hijacking” an argument - such spurious and unfounded remarks by a single councillor are highly disrespectful and neglect the voices of those they are elected to represent more so when procedural irregularities undermine their own involvement in the project.