PENDLE Council has decided to investigate the possibility of external funding to cover the cost of installing a pumping station to replace the weir at Upper Ball Grove Lake in Colne

The weir across the river was damaged during bad weather towards the end of last year and the remainder of it was washed away in the recent storms in February this year.

The council's highways, engineering and design services department has met with the Environment Agency to discuss various options. A local contractor has volunteered to help with free plant and labour and a detailed survey has been undertaken.

To build a new weir would cost in the region of £100,000 and to install and maintain a pumping station, highlighted as the most feasible option, would cost £15,000 originally and £2,500 a year running costs.

Angus McLeod, senior engineer development, said: "The weir across the river made a dam and created a higher water level and a pipe from there ran in to the lake.

"Now the weir has gone, the river level at that point has dropped so it no longer reaches the pipe and the water cannot get to the lake.

"One of our biggest problems is access to actually do the work. There are all sorts of environmental conditions we have to comply with which make it very expensive to create a new weir, so we are looking at the electrical pumping station.

"This will pump water into the lake at regular intervals but obviously there will be maintenance costs."

Colne and district councillors agreed that the possibility of external funding should be investigated as a matter of urgency and a report be brought back to the committee with the results of these investigations.