Facelift for lily pond

By Melissa Meehan
PAKENHAM’S Henty Lily Pond will be refurbished after councillors voted to adopt the Master Plan to rehabilitate the area.
Works on the pond will include improvements to water quality and quantity flowing into the pond and improve the areas surrounding it.
Councillor George Blenkhorn said the lily pond was an important historical part of “old” Pakenham.
“This lily pond was established in 1900 to harvest water lilies,” Cr Blenkhorn said.
“It is an important part of Pakenham’s history.”
He said the inclusion of ideas to introduce a friends group for the lily pond would give locals a sense of ownership.
Pakenham Secondary College principal Ray Squires applauded the Master Plan and said the school looked forward to the refurbishment works.
“We believe the work will make it less of a fire risk than it presently is,” Mr Squires said
The total cost to implement the Master Plan is estimated to be nearly $360,000.
The council has applied for the Federal Stormwater Harvesting and Reuse Project – it is anticipated the results will be announced in August and if successful, the grant will match dollar to dollar value for the total cost of the project.