Defra Access Funding
New accessible viewing platform and boardwalk in Nayland
Thanks to Access funding provided by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), facilitated by the Dedham Vale National Landscape, a new accessible boardwalk and viewing platform has been installed in Nayland.
£30,000 of Defra Access Funding was awarded to Nayland Meadow Ltd for the construction of the platform. The simple aim of the project was to provide permissive access to the pond, which was dug in 2005 by the Environment Agency, at Nayland Meadow by way of a new 6m boardwalk and octagonal viewing/dipping platform all made from English oak.
This will allow residents and visitors alike better access to the pond for quiet enjoyment of the pond and its wildlife.Prior to the installation of the new boardwalk and platform, Nayland Meadow Ltd first arranged for the pond to be de-silted. This was completed in December 2025, helped by funding from Defra’s Farming in Protected Landscapes programme.
This was a major project and involved draining the pond, rescuing the fish by transferring them to the river and removing some 800 cubic metres of silt which had gone through the pipes from the river Stour in the 25 years since the pond was created. The project also required a protected species licence from Natural England to allow the temporary impact on the resident water vole population.
Planning permission from Babergh District Council for the new boardwalk and platform which was obtained in January 2026. Then in early March, the Flights of Fantasy/Wild Deck Company (FOFWDCo) team from Norfolk came to site to assemble the structure. The pond is now fit for many more years and is very much accessible to the public thanks to the boardwalk and platform.
The owner of Nayland Meadow is a company which is also a charity under the name Nayland Meadow Limited. The boardwalk and viewing/dipping platform was designed and installed by the FOFWDCo team from Dersingham, King’s Lynn, Norfolk. The installation by the FOFWDCo team started on 9th March 2026 and took 14 working days. Overall, the project took 9 months from inception to completion.
Nayland Meadow Limited said: "The charity bought Nayland Meadow over twenty years ago and the pond was constructed at that time. The installation of the viewing/dipping platform is a huge benefit to the whole community. For the first time, members of the public can properly enjoy the pond and the surrounding habitat.
This will include the children from the local primary school and it will greatly facilitate their high-quality, outdoor education including topics such as biodiversity, ecosystems, and the importance of protecting natural assets. The benefits will be immeasurable but very real."
The addition of the new accessible pond viewing/dipping platform follows previous projects in Nayland that have taken place on the site, including the installation of a new access path around the meadow, hedgerow management, tree and shrub planting, placement of bird and bat boxes and provision of information boards.