Lottery Grant for Lymm Dam

A PROJECT to give a facelift to Lymm's most famous landmark and attract wildlife back into the area should provide a real boost to the village.

Lymm Dam is not only the most recognisable feature in the village, it is one of the most popular visitor attractions in the whole of the borough, attracting huge numbers of nature lovers every year to bask in its beauty, peace and tranquility.

An application for lottery money to secure the future of the dam was made in November, now everyone concerned has fingers crossed in the hope that when the decision is made in June, it will be good news.

The application includes plans for de-silting work on the upper dam, refurbishing the paths in the area, work on the Crossfield Bridge and an archaeological dig at the Slitting Mill at Slitting Gorge.

Part of the plans are already set with a heritage trail from the dam, to the village, the Slitting Mill and the Trans-Pennine Trail due to be completed by the end of the year.

The application to the Heritage Lottery Fund is for £660,000 with match-funding from Warrington Borough Council, Lymm Parish Council, the Countryside Agency, Mersey Forest and the Mersey Basin Campaign, taking the total cost to more than £1million.

Phil Cooper, area ranger, said: "The Upper Dam is heavily silted and in a short number of years, possibly 15 to 20, it could be completely silted up and we could lose some of the natural species such as the greater crested grebe and kingfisher.

"There could be some work initially as part of the de-silting, but we believe this work is for the long term good of the dam.

"Saving the bridge and the archaeological dig are important parts of the history of the village. The Slitting Mill is one of the best remaining examples in the UK and a lot of people do not know about it."

Speaking at a meeting of Lymm Parish Council last week, Clr Ian Marks said the community had to show strong support for the initiative in order to help gain the funding.

"It is important to use this time to show the lottery fund that we are well set up for this and that the community are very strongly behind it.

"If we can show this support it will improve our chances of getting a successful bid through the lottery."

Clr Paul Littler agreed that the issue was of huge importance to the village.

"This is a massive environmental issue and it won't be long before it will silt up completely then we will have really big problems."

Clr Sheila Woodyatt said the planned improvements would be very welcome for the village.

"A lot more silt has come down into the upper dam since the M6 was built when we used to have lots of different varieties birds like kingfishers but you do not see them now.

"It is a marvellous selection of wildlife which we are gradually losing. But this will restore the environment to what it was and will improve the area dramatically.

"This will improve the management of the place and create a really good park for people to go to."

Source: This is Lymm