Improvement works are continuing at a key community facility as part of the wider Halsnead Garden Village development.

Tree management works at Mellors Pond will enable the installation of more accessible facilities and help improve the management of the site.

The work is part of a programme of enhancements that will be made to Mellors Pond linked to the Halsnead Garden Village development.

Last year Knowsley Council worked with Mellors Angling Association and Whiston Juniors Football Club to secure £29,000 of grant funding from the Liverpool City Region Community Environment Fund to improve landscaping at Mellors Pond.

As well as a general tidy-up of the site and levelling works around the pond, the project will create new areas of wetland habitat and tree planting around the area.

The enhancements will improve the climate change resilience of the site through better drainage and increasing biodiversity through habitat management and creation.

New fully accessible fishing pegs will be installed at Mellors Pond, which is a popular venue for anglers and visitors alike.

Knowsley Council has also been carrying out health and safety tree management works at Old Wood, which lies at the heart of Halsnead Garden Village.

The Council’s Consultant Ecologist will be on hand to supervise the works and ensure that no nesting birds are disturbed.

Cllr Shelley Powell, Cabinet member for Communities and Neighbourhoods, said: “Green and open spaces will be at the heart of the Halsnead Garden Village development. Improved community facilities, such as at Mellors Pond, will also provide a major benefit to new and existing residents.”

Cllr Tony Brennan, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development, said: “Recreational facilities and high-quality outdoor space will be integral to life at Halsnead Garden Village and there for everyone in the local area to enjoy and benefit from. Existing community facilities will benefit from major enhancements. Overhanging branches and dead trees have previously been a hindrance at Mellors Pond so the improvement works will help ensure the facility is accessible to all.”

Halsnead Garden Village is the largest combined housing and employment space in the Liverpool City Region and will be home to 33 hectares of new greenspaces and a new, 28-hectare, Country Park.