Community pond project receives United Utilities funding boost

A new pond dipping platform has been installed at Hungerford Road Allotments in Crewe thanks to funding from United Utilities.

The platform will provide safe access to the shallows at the edges of a pond, which are full of life, whilst preventing damage to banks and plants.

The £2,000 platform will help allotment users discover the wildlife living in the ponds while supporting wider work to improve the health of the Valley Brook.

The money was paid by United Utilities to the Mersey Rivers Trust which is managing the project.

The Hungerford Road Allotments site is used by approximately 120 people, as well as a local veterans’ group, making the new platform a valuable opportunity for the community to engage with the natural environment on their doorstep.

Alongside the contribution from United Utilities, Crewe Town Council has also provided £7,000 of funding for the creation of a new pond at the Hungerford Road Allotments site.

The series of ponds have been created in the course of the old brook and form part of wider work being delivered through the Valley Brook Partnership to restore the natural function and character of local waterways.

As well as creating valuable habitat for wildlife, the ponds provide important natural flood-management benefits. The allotment area is prone to flooding, and the ponds can temporarily hold water, helping to slow its movement through the catchment. They can also help improve water quality in the Valley Brook by reducing sediment runoff into the watercourse.

Phil Salt, Secretary of Hungerford Road Allotment Association Crewe, said: “We are extremely grateful to United Utilities for funding the new dipping platform. It will give people who use the allotments the opportunity to get closer to nature and see first-hand the wildlife benefits the ponds are bringing to the site. The area is also prone to flooding, so the ponds have an important role to play in holding water back and helping to manage flood risk.”

Amber Oxley from Mersey Rivers Trust, who is project managing the work, said: "The new dipping platform will allow safe observation and monitoring of wildlife through pond dipping, while also creating potential opportunities for future environmental education and community engagement activities."

Emma Birch, Area Engagement Lead for United Utilities, added: "We’re proud to support the project at Hungerford Road Allotments. The project demonstrates how investment in nature-based solutions can deliver benefits well beyond the immediate site — helping communities, improving water quality, supporting biodiversity, and making space for water within the landscape.

“The work forms part of the wider Valley Brook Partnership, which brings organisations and communities together to restore and enhance the naturalness of the Valley Brook and improve the wider water environment.”