Horsham's Cootes Pond has dried up again. Volunteers have quotes of £22,700 to dig out the silt and rebuild the bank, and have raised £2,350 so far.

The volunteers who look after Cootes Pond in Horsham have asked the town for £23,000. The pond has dried up again, and the contractors’ quotes they have gathered say the cause has to be dug out by machine.

“As you may have noticed our much-loved pond has completely dried up again,” the group writes on its fundraising page. “Without doubt the weather does not help but after seeking professional advice the main reason is the build-up of silt. The last time the silt was removed was 40 years ago.”

The appeal opened on 30 July 2026 and has raised £2,350 from 55 donations (the Cootes Pond Conservation Volunteers’ fundraiser).

Cootes Farm Pond sits about a mile north west of Horsham Park, on land the community bought in 2021. Horsham Green Spaces, which runs a walking trail from the park to the pond, calls it “a wildlife haven in the middle of Horsham” (trail notes).

Where the money goes

The group has published the quotes rather than a round number. Including VAT, the work breaks down as:

  • £8,600 to excavate the silt by machine and remove vegetation
  • £8,820 to take the silt away from the site
  • £5,280 to restore 20 metres of bank
  • £22,700 in total

That figure assumes the digging happens while the pond is empty and the silt is dry. The volunteers also say they plan to ask local farmers nearer the time whether any would take the silt for fertiliser, which “would significantly reduce the over cost”.

How the £23,000 Cootes Pond target breaks down

Why the volunteers cannot do it themselves

This is not the pond’s usual maintenance. The group’s annual Summer Fayre raises enough each year for routine upkeep and for taking away the green waste that comes with it.

De-silting is different. “We have a small group of regular volunteers, but this job is beyond our scope both physically and mechanically,” the appeal says. The group is applying for grants where it can find them alongside the public appeal.

The ambition is not just to empty the pond of silt. The volunteers want to stabilise the banks as well, and say they hope that will hold “for another, hopefully, 40 years”.

What it means for you

Cootes Farm is one of the pieces of green space in Horsham that exists because residents paid for it. The pond is the reason people walk there.

  • The fundraiser is at gofundme.com/f/desilting-our-local-community-pond. It is organised by Sandie Brittain on behalf of the Cootes Pond Conservation Volunteers.
  • The target is £23,000. On the morning of 28 August it stood at £2,350, or about a tenth of the way there.
  • The work depends on the pond being dry when the machinery arrives, so the timing is set by the weather rather than by the total.

If you want somewhere else to walk in the meantime, our things to do in Horsham page has the parks and green spaces across the district.