In March 2024, BVFoE donated £200.00 to Yateley Town Council to have the Royal Oak Pond dug out. This money originally came from the Ladies Golf Team, Aldershot Golf Course. Just recently BVFoE have asked how the pond is fairing. The photos above are taken just after the digger was used to remove excess silt and debris from the pond. These are before pictures. We hope to post some recent pictures to show how the pond has changed.

According to the Hart Countryside ranger (June 2025) – the work to the pond was really beneficial over the winter, the pond was full and come spring there were frogs/toad spawn and tadpoles. The recent prolonged dry spell had been hard and the water level had reduced significantly (despite largely damming the outlet) but that this might just be a feature of this pond as many do. It was great to be able to remove so much of the silt build up with the digger (using the grant money) which means that they now just have to do an annual leaf litter removal task to keep on top of it.  In the long term the ranger would like to see if there is a way of diverting and keeping more water in it.