A TOWN councillor has warned the Moor Pool could become a ‘cess pit’ if the powers that be do not take action soon.

For the past 18 months Knutsford town councillors have been working with Natural England, Cheshire Wildlife Trust and the Environment Agency in a bid to avoid a repeat of the scenes in 2009 that saw more than 3,000 fish die in the pool due to a lack of oxygen in the water.

Earlier this month the trust called on town residents to stop feeding the fish and ducks as it was causing the oxygen levels in the water to change.

The matter was again discussed at Knutsford Town Council’s environment committee on February 18.

Clr Tony Dean said he had been told the fish would be moved to a nearby lake but it would take time, but Clr Peter Coan added it was not just about the fish being moved, it was about tackling the problem of the ever-growing reed beds.

Clr Dean said the netting of the fish was a short-term solution and urged the various agencies to get around the table to agree on what to do long-term.

Town Mayor Clr Vivien Davies said Cheshire East Council and Tatton Park were keen to have the reed beds as it stopped pollution from Knutsford’s car parks entering Tatton Mere.

“We’re approaching March very quickly and they’ll say we can’t go in and do it because of the nesting birds if we’re not careful,” she said.

“Cheshire East and Tatton Park are eager to have more of the reed beds because they say they act as a filter as the run-offs from the car parks that go into the River Lily don’t affect Tatton Mere and they’ve felt like that for a long time.”

Clr Coan warned this attitude from the authority could be disastrous for the Moor Pool.

“This toxic run-off is coming from Cheshire East Council-controlled land,” he said.

“So have the residents of Knutsford been left with what would be a cess pit in the centre of the town then?”