Could you one day swim in Antony Estate’s Bath House pond?

Tucked among the trees on the Antony Estate is a pond that people once swam in. Right now it is low, muddy and overgrown at the edges. A new partnership wants to change that, and it is asking swimmers, nature lovers and anyone with an opinion on the pond’s future to help decide what happens next.

The Carew Pole Garden Trust, Torpoint Artists Collective CIC (TAC) and Rooted Futures have joined forces to take the first steps towards restoring the historic Bath House swimming pond. The aim is to bring it back into community use and give local residents and visitors better access to nature.

What the specialists are looking at first

Specialists at the Carew Pole Garden Trust have started working out how the pond can be cleared. They are also identifying which trees need maintenance, and trying to better understand the tidal inlet and how water moves through the site.

Those early investigations will shape the next stages of the restoration. The challenge is a balancing act, weighing up the potential for future swimming and community activities against the protection of wildlife and the historic landscape.

Three partners, three jobs

Each partner brings something different. The Carew Pole Garden Trust will lead the physical restoration, drawing on its knowledge of the estate and gardens. TAC, a community interest company, will lead creative learning and community engagement. Rooted Futures will support partnership coordination and develop a way of understanding the project’s environmental, community and wellbeing impacts.

Between them, the partners want to create a welcoming community resource where people can connect with green and blue space, discover the natural environment and play a part in the long-term care of a valued local landscape.

Workshops and a gallery on Fore Street

Education, creativity and community involvement sit at the centre of the plans. TAC is developing a programme of artist-led workshops covering wildlife recording, photography, storytelling and nature journalling, giving people of different ages the chance to discover the pond, share what they know and contribute to its future.

TAC’s gallery on Fore Street in Torpoint will act as a town-centre hub for project updates, community conversations and creative activities. Workshops, volunteering opportunities and an exhibition are planned to tell the story of the restoration as it unfolds.

Counting the difference it makes

Rooted Futures will help the partnership measure what the project changes for people and for nature. That includes gathering feedback from participants, looking at changes in wellbeing, and developing biodiversity monitoring to guide the project and how the site is managed in future.

The idea is to build up evidence that records more than what gets restored. It should also show how the pond can support community wellbeing, environmental awareness and people’s connection with the natural world.

A Friends of the Pond group is forming

A Friends of the Pond group is being set up to help shape the next steps, bringing together local knowledge, practical skills and ideas for the site’s long-term care and use. Open-water swimmers are among those being invited to get involved.

Anyone interested in joining the group, volunteering or taking part in future workshops is encouraged to contact Antony Woodland Garden by emailing [email protected].

This is the start of a longer-term project. When, or how, anyone gets back in the water will depend on the restoration work and on assessments of water quality, safety and environmental conditions. Further updates and ways to get involved are due to be shared as the project develops.