Drainage Ponds in Paddock Wood

On the 3^rd Jan post I mentioned that the number of drainage / retention ponds around the town are expected to increase greatly, if the planned housing developments go ahead. I thought it might be useful to review the existing drainage ponds around the town, which are accessible in public areas.

Publicly accessible ponds around Paddock Wood in 2016

What is a drainage / retention pond?

Historically drainage ponds were often located close to houses built in the lower weald areas of Kent. They helped hold back water in the winter and alleviate flooding, whilst in the summer they reduced shrinkage of the clay subsoil around the house, which could result in subsidence if the soil completely dried out. Additionally they were a source of domestic water for the houses inhabitants and livestock.

Their modern day usage is more often related to flood control in urban areas. In short they are meant to act as a way of storing the urban runoff during heavy rain / storm events and then slowly release the water after the storm has passed. Because they hold water back and reduce its flow, the heavy loads of silt often contained in the storm runoff sinks to the bottom of the pond and so in time the ponds gradually fill up with silt, hold a reduced volume of water and so prove to be less effective, unless they are de-silted on a regular basis.

All ponds are dynamic habitats, by which I mean they are very quickly colonised by plants and animals and within 2- 3 years you have a thriving wildlife habitat. By way of comparison, mature woodlands take up to 200 years to become a well-balanced ecosystem.

The Hop Pocket Pond (pond E on the map)

Let’s start with the oldest drainage pond I am aware of, the pond near the railway bridge ( & The Hop Pocket pub before it was demolished). Here are a few photos :

( Photo taken in July 2006, 

but trolleys still migrate to the pond !)

Lovely isn’t it !

As you can see it is heavily shaded and the large amount of duckweed indicates probable high levels  of nutrients. Technically it is in the ownership of Network Rail, but it has been neglected for many years now. I have never felt brave enough to plumb the depths to see what lives underwater, but in past years I have seen the odd moorhen and a few frogs in the pond. Ever wondered how best to recycle rubbish? If you are a moorhen you build a nest with all the food wrappers and wastepaper !

A rubbish builder !

I think this is probably the earliest public drainage pond in the town and probably was constructed when the railway bridge was built, in the mid 1800’s.The water draining into it mainly comes from the surrounding roads and car park.

Putlands Ponds (pond(s) A on the map)

Moving swiftly on to the next oldest drainage ponds, there are two ponds behind the Putlands sports hall and next to the Bowls club. Both were built in the late 1970’s / 80’s. 

The smaller of the two, behind the sport hall, is filled by drains from the sports hall car park and the adjacent housing estate (Linnet Avenue & Chaffinch Way). 

Spot the ball competition !

It’s quite deep and reasonably vegetated & has the odd moorhen (& football)  and sometimes mallard ducks on or around its margins. In late February the pond is a magnet for frogs trying to breed and on average 30 - 40 clumps of frogspawn can be seen in the pond at this time. There are also fish in the pond, so the tadpoles may well struggle to transform themselves into little froglets !

The largest of the two ponds, behind the bowls club, is central Paddock Wood’s best toad breeding pond. 

Looking east across the pond

In some years I have counted upwards of 800 toads at the height of the breeding frenzy in early – mid March. This pond is designated, by the Kent Reptile & Amphibian Group, as a toad breeding site of county importance. Toads are very faithful with their breeding ponds and return year after year to the same pond (or adjacent ponds). The main pond in Putlands is one such pond. Nationally toad numbers are rapidly diminishing, partly as a result of destruction / pollution of their breeding ponds. It is likely that most toads within to 0.75 – 1 km of the Putland ponds converge on these two ponds to breed each year in early March.

Looking briefly at other wildlife matters regarding this pond, smooth newts can also been found and there is also a small moorhen population. After the circus comes to town, in July, a burgeoning goldfish population becomes resident within the pond ! The high level of fish does result in a diminished population of aquatic insects in the pond, as the fish are the top predators in this watery jungle.

In recent years PWTC have arranged to have the trees around the pond to be cut back and the area behind the pond made more wildlife friendly. This has worked, because in spring 2015 large numbers of toads appeared to have hibernated in this area. Additionally the aquatic vegetation has been thinned to provide larger areas of open water. In the past there has been large amounts of duckweed in this pond, plus at times an explosion of Costa coffee cups and other litter. The joys and perils of an urban pond !

The main drainage feeding into the pond, comes from the adjacent sports field, via a drainage ditch and also from the smaller pond mentioned earlier. The water exits into the drainage system in ‘The Bines’ and remains underground until reaching the culvert opposite the John Brunt Pub. 

Some 7 – 8 years ago a large number of toads appeared in this culvert, after excessive rain one spring. Toads were migrating to the Putlands ponds at this time and many do fall into the roadside drain gully pots around Kiln Way / Ashcroft Road / The Bines / Chaffinch Way areas. The toads seen in the John Brunt pub culvert may well have been washed through from the Putland ponds, or the drain gully pots in the previously mentioned roads.

The silt removed from the pond in December 2015

After years of flooding problems, in December 2015 the pond was de-silted and I am waiting to see how this will affect this year’s toad breeding season. Most of the fish were also removed and I am not yet sure if they are going to be put back into the pond. If not, there may be a higher number of aquatic insects in the pond this year.

The Green Lane Ponds

Sorry, this is turning out to be rather a long blog and so at this stage I will skate over these three ponds and come back to them in greater detail in a latter blog.

There is a large pond on the main sports field (pond B on the map) which receives drainage water from part of the Green Lane housing development (see drainage map in blog dated 3^rd January) and like the other two ponds was built in the 1990’s.

Looking south east from the playing field.

I am aware of great crested newts in the garden ponds of some of the nearby houses, but so far have not found them in this pond. The pond has small fish, stickle backs, and so this could well be the reason. The sides of the pond are also very steep and access is difficult, making a wildlife survey of the pond a challenge.

At the junction of Green Lane and Church Road there are two additional drainage ponds, both of which are fenced off, restricting access, as is the pond on the sports field.  

Looking north east, towards the modern cemetery.

One pond is quite small (pond c on the map) , contains a duck house ( a donation from an MP maybe!) and heavily covered in aquatic vegetation, but looks like it has good potential as a wildlife pond.

View from Green Lane, looking west.

The larger pond (pond D on the map) has much more open water, as a result of the removal of large amounts of common reed plants (Phragmites)  3-4 years ago. Before this there was always a good population of frogs breeding in the pond. The phragmites  has begun to re-establish itself around the margins, so it will be interesting to watch if the frogs will return in greater numbers this spring.

I will end this blog for now and return to them in early spring, once the amphibian breeding season begins. However, at least for now, readers have a brief understanding of the main public accessible drainage ponds in the pond.