Good progress is being made to remove silt from the lakes at Kelsey Park, with work to the silt trap already complete with ducks and other wildlife already benefitting.
The meticulous work is part of a £2million plan to desilt the silt trap, upper and lower lakes, which is envisaged to be complete in Spring 2025. The news follows earlier agreement to both desilt the lakes and install a new bridge across the lake, with planning for the bridge on-going.
Careful synchronised digging as part of the desilting work is progressing in line with the contours of the lake, in support of the wildlife, including birds and fish. The desilting work, being undertaken by Land and Water, is envisaged to continue to May 2025, in line with the Environmental Management Plan.
Councillor Will Rowlands, Executive Councillor for Environment said, “We are pleased to see that progress is being made and one of the unexpected tributes that I would like to pay is to residents, who will have visited Kelsey Park over the years, who have not dropped their litter into the lakes. There is a noticeable absence of litter in the silt, which underlines how much our residents both care for this much loved park and their environment. If you want to keep in touch with progress next year, you can sign up for updates. You might also like to join Friends of Kelsey Park, who continue to champion this much-loved space, with our thanks to them too.”
Tyler Gibson, Site Manager for the works from Land and Water “I would like to thank all of the park users and stake holders for their understanding, co-operation and patience whilst we undertake these critical works. The works are progressing well, and we know these essential works will only benefit the park users and local wildlife for years to come”.
Currently there are two long reach excavators, floating on specialist pontoons in the lake, carefully digging silt out from the Upper Lake, with this part of the project estimated to be complete in February 2025. The silt from the lake is being transferred into 10T hoppers (floating steel skips) and pushed using small tugboats to the off-load area before being transported away from the park. The silt is being used to support the creation of the largest UK habitat for birds at Rainham Marshes.
The entire area of the lakes has been digitally mapped and the digging is done to precise measurements, removing approximately 22,400T of silt across all of the lakes. The majority of the silt has entered the lakes from the river Beck together with being generated from tree leaves and other organic matter decomposing.
Kelsey Park remains open as normal, with residents able to visit the park, with specific work areas carefully fenced off as needed, with fencing being moved as work progresses.
Sign up for updates about Kelsey Park desilting and bridge projects
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For media enquiries, please contact Andrew Rogers, Head of Public Affairs, on 020 8461 7670 or email Andrew.Rogers@bromley.gov.uk.