Southwark's Parks To Get Compost Boost (Southwark Liberal Democrats)

Southwark Liberal Democrats <info@southwark-libdems.org.uk>

Southwark's Parks To Get Compost Boost

April 1, 2004 12:00 AM

Ongoing work on desilting the lake in Belair Park in Dulwich took a new twist recently as the sediment extracted from the lake is made into compost which will be used in parks across Southwark.

The artificial lake, created in Belair Park in the early eighteenth century, was pumped of water last December.

The drained sediment, which was 0.5 metres deep, was then excavated and has now been transferred to a site in the park where it has had woodchips added and will be left to naturally decompose. The compost should be ready to use as topsoil in Belair Park, and green spaces across the borough, by the middle of this month.

In total, 2500 cubic metres of sediment was removed from the lake by contractors, Land & Water Services Ltd, with an equivalent amount of woodchip brought to the site for the composting process.

This ambitious and environmentally friendly cleaning operation will improve water quality in the lake and complete the restoration of the Grade II listed park. It already has new paths, an improved perimeter fence, new railings around the lake and a better drainage system.

Councillor Richard Thomas, Southwark Council's Executive Member for Environment and Transport, said:

"I'm delighted that we can turn sediment from Belair Park lake into compost to use in this park and others all across the borough.

"It's a really innovative and environmentally friendly scheme, allowing us to reuse locally what would otherwise have been transported out of the borough and sent to landfill. Its another example of our commitment to a cleaner, greener Southwark."