£50,000 cash boost to help protect pool

A Black Country beauty spot has been given a cash boost after winning a £50,000 grant to spend on improvements.

It will be spent improving water quality at Mill Pool in West Bromwich in a bid to attract more wildlife to the area.

It was once claimed that pollution at the pool, off Rydding Lane, was leaving swans and geese coated in oil hampering their ability to fly. Members of the Mill Pool Group, who look after the pool every day have been given the grant by the Water Regulation Education Network (WREN).

Group member Rosemary Morrell, said: "The Mill Pool open space is a green oasis completely surrounded by housing.

"The area is used by families, dog walkers and many local residents who enjoy the peace and tranquillity and the chance to watch waterfowl and listen to the birdsong.

"We have been given the grant towards improving the quality of the water which plays an important role in the well-being of the waterfowl and the other wildlife that inhabit the space.

"The Mill Pool Group works in partnership with Sandwell Council and the Environment Agency and thanks initially to Grot Spot Funding, the group has already created pathways around the pools and trimmed overgrowth.

She added: "The main entrance off Rydding Lane had many potholes and has been re-surfaced thanks to the funding. Now we are concentrating on improving the water quality of the pool itself which will then attract more wildlife."

Sandwell's leisure boss, Councillor Linda Horton, added: "This is great news for the Group who work so hard to keep this interesting piece of green oasis in good condition.

"It is also excellent for the many local people who use the pool for a walk for themselves and their dogs and for people interested in the wide range of wildlife attracted to this nature area."

In 2007 it was claimed that pollution at the pool, which was given a tidy-up in 2006 that featured on ITV as part of the Big Clean Up project, was responsible for coating many birds in a film of grease.It was also claimed that oily deposits at the pool had cost four cygnets their lives.