New nature reserve set for Welshpool area

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporter

A project to restore the Montgomery Canal could take a leap forwards if Powys councillors agree plans for an “offline pond” near Welshpool.

At a meeting of Powys County Council’s Planning committee this coming Thursday, plans for the pond with “associated landscaping and enabling works” will go before councillors.

The application was lodged by the Canal and River Trust with county planners back in October last year. The Trust are working with Powys council to restore the canal.

The site covers 4.2 hectares with the pond to be 1.2 hectares at land off Coppice Lane, near Banks Farm, at Wern, just off the A483 main road.

Building the pond will include an inlet and outlet structure to link it to the canal.

The Canal and River Trust said: “The new pond provides aquatic habitat adjacent but separate from the canal and is one of a number (of ponds) which are proposed to be created as part of the restoration project.

“This envisages reserves created along the length of the canal as restoration progresses.”

The Trust say that a similar ponds have been created at Aston Lock, near Oswestry, and the one they propose off Coppice Lane is an “expansion” of this provision.

The Trust explained: “The creation of the ponds is to provide additional habitat principally to accommodate ‘Luronium Natans’ a protected species of aquatic plant which is present in the canal itself and the reason for its length in Wales being designated a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

“The provision of ponds along the length of the canal provides additional habitat and will be populated by Luronium as part of the project.”

Welshpool Town Council had considered the application at a meeting in January and said they would “not support” it until more information came from the Trust on what they intend to do to “deter” visitors from the site.

They also ask why “hard standing off lane surface” is not something the Trust would consider.

Senior planning officer, Kate Bowen, said: “The representations received from Town Council as well as the consultees have all been carefully considered. The benefits of the development are recognised in terms of the connection with the wider restoration of the canal which policy supports.

“Given that all material considerations have been adequately addressed or measures can be conditioned, the recommendation is one of conditional consent.”

In February 2022, Levelling Up funding worth £13.937 million from the UK Government was agreed for a major canal project incoprorating this work.

However, last September concerns were raised by internal auditors at Powys council that “significant delays” in the work could force it to be scaled back, with a potential loss of up to £6 million in funding predicted.

This is because the scheme was supposed to have been finished with all of the money spent by the end of March 2025.

But earlier this month, the council and Trust revealed that they had secured an 11-month extension and the work now needs to be finished by the end of next February.