A PADDLING pool at a Darwen beauty spot has been allowed to silt up because new rules mean the council cannot afford to clear it.

For 90 years, the pool in Sunnyhurst Wood has been cleared up to three times annually, and has been used by generations for duck races and dingy sailing.

Traditionally, the removed silt was dried in mounds beside the pool, then redistributed within the 85 acre wood.

However, since being classed as a biological heritage site, Blackburn with Darwen Council will no longer keep the silt in the wood. Instead it must now be removed while still wet at a cost of £17,000, which the council has said it cannot afford.

Dennis Gillibrand, chair of the Friends of Sunnyhurst Wood (FOSW), said: “As a group, we’re really alarmed.

“The material is not contaminated - tests have been done to prove that - and we can’t see why it can’t be redistributed within the area, like United Utilities did with two lakes higher in the wood.

“The silt is stopping people from enjoying the paddling pool, and it also means that waterfalls will become blocked. The whole area will end up becoming a wetland.

“We want to see the council apply for land fill tax money and bring in a silt gathering system to stop it entering the pond.”

He also criticised the ‘lack of council communication’. He said: “After 11 years of working with the council, that the FOSW were not invited to a meeting to discuss the new ruling is at best discouteous, and at worst, insulting.”

Coun Damian Talbot said he was aware of concerns, and that the council was looking to find a solution.

He said: "It is estimated that bringing in a contractor to remove the silt from the site would cost almost £17,000, which particularly in the present economic climate is a sizeable amount.”

He added: “However, we are working with a number of agencies to find a solution as soon as is possible, ensuring that we maintain both our responsibility to biodiversity and give best value for council tax payers."