A Suffolk council has been accused of “wasting” £10,000 on a “bodged job” to improve a memorial boating lake.
The Mill Acre boating pond in Sudbury, which is a memorial to the Green family who perished in an air disaster in 1971, is being refurbished by a contractor instructed by Sudbury Town Council.
There has been heated discussion about the work on social media, with concerns raised about whether concreting the base is the best way to keep the lake clean, but the town council has assured people it will be finished “satisfactorily”.
Stuart Poole, who believes his father knew Mr Green, said: “It’s a complete bodged job and waste of money.”
On Facebook, someone else said: “We want it done properly, not only for money but in respect of the family it was dedicated to.”
The town council has been using a contractor to lay fresh concrete at the bottom of the lake to create a smooth surface to help prevent algae settling there, and in turn helping to keep it clean.
Mr Poole, who works in house removals, believes the council should have spent more money and invested in a water filter system instead.
Sudbury Town Clerk Jacqui Howells admitted there had been some “hiccoughs over the concrete”, but said she had been assured by the contractor everything was now “going to plan”.
She said: “The money won’t be wasted. It’s just taking a little bit longer than we hoped it would because the contractor has had a few issues, but we are confident the job will be finished satisfactorily and the whole area will be upgraded.”
She said the town council sought a number of quotes for the work and the price was agreed in the region of £10,000.
She added £2,000 of the funding came from a Tesco scheme..
“It would cost an awful lot of money, a lot more money, if we wanted to change it and put filters or anything else in it.
“Up to now it’s been no problem at all and we think by relaying the surface we will have at least another 10 to 15 years out of it.”
The lake, which was once a top attraction for youngsters and hosted an annual regatta for model boats, was last renovated in 1999 when £30,000 was spent on repairs.
Mrs Howells said the town council wants to upgrade that whole area to encourage people to use it.
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