What the hell is going on at Sheepwash Pond on the Ridgeway ** Updated 22/4/2015

***** Updated 23/4/2015 ****
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This evening I was on my way back from my evening walk with our dogs when I noticed an  alarming sight at Sheepwash pond on the Ridgeway in Mill Hill. The pond has huge clumps of green algae blooms covering much of the surface (Sheepwash pond is located on the land next to Mr Andrew Reids Belmont Childrens Zoo, which is home to a large number of  "exotic" animals).  Such algae blooms are often a sign of sewage or other pollutants being present in  a body of water.  It is not unknown for children to play in the pond. Maybe it was just the time of day but we are also noticed the lack of the geese and ducks which usually make their presence known. The pond is also next door to St Pauls school.

Intrigued by these rather odd for this time of year algae blooms, further inspection revealed something even more alarming. A huge pipe leading from the pond to Mr Reids Belmont Childrens Zoo property. The Barnet Eye was unable to ascertain the purpose of the pipe. It has clearly been installed at a reasonable expense and is serving some purpose for Mr Reids establishment. As far as we understand, you need a license to extract water from a public pond and there are large fines for doing this without the proper authority from the environment agency.

Mr Reid has recently been very vocal about how he has joined UKIP following a planning dispute with the council. Lets hope he's equally forthcoming explaining the exact  purpose of the pipework into the Sheepwash pond, and lets hope it serves a useful, community minded purpose. The Barnet Eye believes that Sheepwash pond is one of the local jewels in the crown in Mill Hill. The thought of it being contaminated with sewage causing algae blooms is most alarming. The source of any such contamination needs identifying as a matter of urgency.


We hope that Barnet Council visit the pond as a matter of urgency and ensure that there are no dangerous pollutants in the pond. We noted that Angel Pond, a mere 400 yards down the road had no such algae blooms. As to the pipework into the Belmont Zoo, lets hope that we get a proper explanation for that as well.