As the street by the church closed for the tables and chairs to be erected for the millennium lunch, so the villagers gathered at the pond to mark completion of the makeover scheme. It has been made possible by an £8,400 grant from the Onyx Environmental Trust, together with funds from Hart District and Long Sutton & Well Parish Councils, topped up by donations from parishioners.

Now fully dredged to remove years of accumulated silt, the banks restored and the edges planted with native water plants, the pond has once more filled with water and re-gained its attraction as a focal point of village life.

The completion represents two years of planning plus several months of works by the contractor, Brown, all of which has been managed jointly by Long Sutton & Well Parish Council and Hart District Council.

Says Parish Councillor Mrs Annette Newton, "This has been a very rewarding project and the whole village is delighted with the way the pond looks. We could not have done it without the support from Onyx and have been very pleased with the way in which the contractor has worked to overcome the problems as they arose."

When additional funds were needed, a call for support in the Parish Magazine quickly brought in extra money from local people, with donations totalling nearly £2,000.

Representing the Onyx Environmental Trust at the celebration event, John Collis, Project Director of Hampshire Waste Services, part of the Onyx Group, said; "The local panels of the Onyx Trust are particularly keen to assist with projects that are community based, and are therefore pleased to see the success of the Long Sutton Pond scheme." A charitable body, the Trust was set up to support environmental improvement and development through the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme. Also speaking at the event was John Hill, Chairman of the Parish Council, who paid tribute to the many people involved in the pond renovation. He was joined by Quentin Wallace-Jones from Hart District Council and Sarah Wallis, District Councillor and former chairman of Hart District Council.

Everyone then walked along to their Street Party lunch and to the presentation of specially commissioned millennium mugs to the children of Long Sutton and Wells.

Notes for editors

The Onyx Environmental Trust was founded in August 1997 and is an approved Environmental Body formed under the Landfill Tax Regulations, as well as a Registered Charity. The Landfill Tax Regulations allow landfill site operators to contribute up to 20% of the Landfill Tax they collect to enrolled Environmental Bodies, enabling them to undertake or fund environmental projects which meet one or more of the Scheme’s stated objectives.

The Onyx Environmental Group plc has supported this initiative by contributions to The Onyx Environmental Trust in the first two years of over £7 million of Landfill Tax. Under the regulations only 90% of this is recoverable against Landfill Tax and the Onyx Group has accepted this as a cost.