Volunteers secure vital funding to help safeguard and improve biodiversity at Gresford Lake

A Wrexham community is pulling together to save a much-loved lake for future generations to enjoy.

The group say Gresford Lake has been slowly deteriorating for decades but the Friends of Gresford Lake and Gresford Community Council are “determined to restore and enhance the natural habitats around the lake”.

To help the project advance, the voluntary group and the council recently secured over £48,000 from the Welsh Government’s Landfill Disposal Tax Community Scheme and Wrexham’s Member of the Senedd, Lesley Griffiths has offered her support for the scheme.

Once a thriving oasis, they say the introduction of carp in the 1980s has led to a steady decline of the lake. They aded, that feeding bread to ducks and fish has, unfortunately, also contributed, resulting in these populations exploding and eating any remaining water plants and insect life, “Harmful algal blooms have thrived and the lake is now a pea green soup, void of life”.

The Friends of Gresford Lake and Gresford Community Council recognised urgent action was needed to halt the decline and help preserve the naturally occurring greenspace for future generations.

Removing the non-native carp is a crucial first step and the partnership ultimately hopes to encourage the return of wildlife in all forms, such as tadpoles, newts, water beetles and waterlilies.

Working together, the Community Council and Friends of Gresford Lake recently applied for, and successfully secured, funding from the Welsh Government’s Landfill Disposal Tax Community Scheme, administered by the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA).

The grant of over £48,000 will help restore the biodiversity of the lake. Work will commence in June, with the funding allowing the group to remove the invasive carp, install a solar-powered ultrasonic algae remover, purchase safety equipment and introduce aquatic plants.

Ahead of the work starting, Friends of Gresford Lake and Gresford Community Council are keen to ensure the wider community is aware of their project and are engaging with nearby All Saints’ Primary School.

After writing a letter of support for the funding application, Wrexham’s Member of the Senedd, Lesley Griffiths recently visited Gresford Lake to meet the volunteers and find out more about the project.

She said: “Gresford Lake is a unique feature and clearly holds a special place at the heart of the community.

“I commend the work of Friends of Gresford Lake and Gresford Community Council.

“In a relatively short amount of time, they have taken huge strides towards saving the lake and am pleased they were able to secure this significant Welsh Government funding.

“It will help restore the natural habitat and hopefully transform the lake into a thriving ecosystem the whole area can enjoy.

“There is, of course, plenty of work still to do but the determination, knowledge and passion demonstrated by the volunteers is inspiring. I will do all I can to support the volunteers and I am sure their work will be championed by the entire Gresford community.”

Top pic via Andrew Price, View Finder Pictures – (L to R) Mark Fleming, Rob Jones, Andrew Bailey, Lesley Griffiths MS, Marian Williams, Jan Jones & Rob Grey.