Astonfields Balancing Lakes is a local nature reserve on the north-eastern edge of

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in ...

, in Staffordshire, England. The main purpose of the

balancing lake A balancing lake (also flood basin or Sustainable urban drainage scheme) is a term used in the U.K. describing an element of an urban drainage system used to control flooding by temporarily storing flood waters. The term balancing pond is also ...

s is flood defence; the site has also been developed for wildlife habitats. Its area is about , and it is designated a Grade 1 Site of Biological Importance."Astonfields Balancing Lakes"
Stafford Borough Council. Retrieved 25 May 2020.

History and description

The site of the lakes was once

wet meadow A wet meadow is a type of wetland with soils that are saturated for part or all of the growing season. Debate exists whether a wet meadow is a type of marsh or a completely separate type of wetland. Wet prairies and wet savannas are hydrologicall ...

land. The balancing lakes were constructed to help protect Stafford from flooding, the northern lake in the late 1970s, and the southern lake in 1990. At the northern edge of the site is the former line of the

Stafford and Uttoxeter Railway The Stafford and Uttoxeter Railway was authorised by Act of Parliament on 29 July 1862,Donald J Grant, Directory of the Railway Companies of Great Britain, Matador, Kibworth Beauchamp, 2017, ISBN 978 1785893 537, pages 532 and 533 to build a line ...

, now a cycle route. The Astonfields Industrial Estate, west of the lakes, was formerly a salt works, extracting saline groundwater; the salt-rich waste deposits remain. The lakes are now important for wildlife, and the site is managed in order to protect and improve it. The northern lake is mostly open water, and has a small amount of vegetation. The southern lake, containing little open water, includes a

reed bed A reedbed or reed bed is a natural habitat found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions and estuaries. Reedbeds are part of a succession from young reeds colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As ...

and a small area of

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is domin ...

. It provides a habitat for

water rail The water rail (''Rallus aquaticus'') is a bird of the rail family which breeds in well-vegetated wetlands across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Northern and eastern populations are migratory, but this species is a permanent resident in the war ...

and

snipe A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/ camouflaging plumage. The '' Gallinago'' snipes have a n ...

. There are hedgerows and woodland at the fringes of the site, a habitat for various

warbler Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous. Sylvioid warblers Th ...

s and other species."Lichfield & District Local Group: Places to see birds: Astonfields Balancing Lakes Local Nature Reserve (SJ 9224)"

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment throu ...

. Retrieved 25 May 2020.

References

{{Reflist Local nature reserves in Staffordshire Lakes of Staffordshire Salt marshes of the United Kingdom Birdwatching sites in England