Battle stations over boating lake wildlife plan

A dispute is taking place between a model boat club and wildlife activists over the future of a park's boating lake.

Revised plans for a "safe haven" wildlife platform at the lake in Sunderland's Roker Park have been submitted to the council.

Supporters of the scheme, which aims to provide an option for nesting swans, ducks and other wildlife to use, say they have faced a "backlash".

But Roker Park Model Boat Club says the site is "unsuitable for nesting birds and other wildlife".

Kenneth Talbot, secretary of the boat club which has been based at the pond since its creation in the 1930s, claims the site "was designed as a boating lake".

The 74-year-old said: "It's never been a wildlife pond, it was never meant to be a wildlife pond, it was made out of concrete as a boating lake.

"We will keep protesting, we'll do anything we can legally do as our members love enjoying the boats on the lake."

The plan was submitted by ecologist Julie Dyson who raised more than £4,000 from hundreds of online donations.

It was approved in July last year with a condition to remove the platform if it is not used by wildlife within three years, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

But no platform has been installed due to issues over what materials to use, so an amended application has been submitted with a decision due by early December.

Ms Dyson said the club's concerns have been taken on board.

The 39-year-old said: "We live in such a nature depleted country, and we're just trying to do a nice thing to help local wildlife.

"People that have donated a lot of money are upset that the platform hasn't been installed yet.

"I've suffered a lot of backlash with some horrible and derogatory things said about me, but despite that we've kept going and we've tried to accommodate the boat club."

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