PEMBROKE Town councillors have agreed to form a new action group to look into fighting reeds in the Mill Pond.

Councillor Mel Phillips proposed the motion after walking around the Mill Pond and not being able to see the other side.

“You either like them or you don’t like them,” she said.

“Cllr Cooke and I decided to walk home after the River Rally, we got as far as the old co-op.

“The reeds must have been literally seven or eight feet tall and you could not see the Waterman’s Arms, you could not see across the other side.”

“There was also loads of rubbish trapped inside them,” she said.

“Apparently ducklings have died where they have been trapped in them and the swan’s eggs have been smashed up.”

The councillor explained that the reeds grow in soft silt and that the Mill Pond had proved to be the perfect location for them.

The Cllr added: “They are taking the water out of the Mill pond

“The top pond where I live used to be five feet deep, it is now 18 inches deep because of the reeds. There is no fish in it any more.”

She went on to explain that the reeds could be stopped by “drowning” them by cutting them off underneath the water.

Cllr Jon Nutting agreed with the proposal but said there needed to be a meeting of all interested people first, including representatives from the county council.

He also added that in his opinion the pond should be flushed more often.

Mayor, Cllr Linda Brown agreed that the pond should be flushed and that a meeting was needed.

She said: “I think we do need to get the right information and if those reeds do need to get taken out it needs to be flushed so the silt is removed and then we can look at what can replace them.

“The Mill pond is becoming an eyesore and if anyone were to fall into the Millpond while those reeds were there small children and animals, well it’s not a good idea.”

Cllr Nutting said that before a group is formed there should be a talk first. “We’ve got to form a working group of some form, we’ve got to make sure we go forward with this.

"My worry is that we will just get information on this but we won’t action anything.”

The council unanimously agreed to form a working group to look into the future management and control of the reeds, open to anyone with an interest or who has been on previous Mill Pond groups.