VIDEO: 'Exciting' work to restore Brooklands lake to a 'family destination'

Jacob Dew, project manager at Five Rivers, the contractor chosen by Worthing Borough Council, led a tour of the drained lake where a scheme to improve habitats for wildlife is underway. Excavators are currently removing 15,500 cubic metres of silt from the lake bed.The displaced silt is then poured into enclosures made from nine foot chestnut posts driven into the lake and covered with a geotextile to create new margins and islands. Mr Dew said: “We are further enhancing the marginal habitat of the lake."Following the works, what you should be able to see is a fantastic wetlands and reedbed margin around the outside of the lake.”Islands in the lake will be repopulated with native plants and trees including hornbeams, hazel, beech, to increase the biodiversity of the lake. A boardwalk over the reeds at the edge of the lake, created from recycled plastic, will be another way to ‘get people engaged’ with the natural site, Mr Dew said. Work was progressing well, he said, and will hopefully be completed by the end of January or February next year. Councillor Alex Harman, ward councillor for Selden, was one of those who joined the tour, and said: “I’m incredibly pleased to actually come down and see the work being done. “It’s a gem of Worthing and it’s fantastic it’s getting the attention it deserves. “I’m quite excited to see the end result and see the life and energy it once had.“I want to see it back to being a family destination in the heart of Worthing.”Councillor Diane Guest, executive member for the environment, said: “It’s really exciting that it’s progressing so quickly."It was only a year ago that the petition was started.“To get to this stage in such a short space of time is amazing.”Long term plans for Brooklands include a new cafe at the site, a council spokesman said, now that the existing cafe has closed.