LESS than two weeks after completing its revamp, Watford town centre's pond is still being plagued by criticism as vandals continue to wreak havoc on it.

One resident, Mr Andrew McKendrick, 43, of Hunter's Lane, Leavesden, said he was disappointed with the lack of care and attention Watford Council has shown towards the newly-refurbished pond in The Parade, which is already in a 'state' and looks set to get worse if it is not maintained.

He said: 'The council has spent more than £700,000 on revamping this end of the high street and, to be quite honest, the pond doesn't really look all that much better.

'The pond life is still suffering because thoughtless people are still throwing rubbish into it and all sorts of stuff is floating around week after week.

'The pond was only officially finished last week and the council has done nothing to remove the garbage or the traffic cone in it.

'The council doesn't seem bothered and it is this sort of attitude that led to the pond becoming dilapidated in the first place - it needs to be maintained, otherwise it will only have to be revamped again.'

In September 1998, Watford Council decided to use some of the funds from the £700,000 town re-enhancement budget to breathe fresh life back into the pond and reinstate it as a feature of the town.

The architect, Gilespies, was called in to re-design the pond and work was started on the pond in May by contractors Kingcombe Aquacare.

The pond which did play host to terrapins now only hosts fish, which are in danger of being polluted if littering continues.

Mr McKendrick added: 'Surely the council should make an effort to employ someone, perhaps a pensioner, to fish out the rubbish each week. The pond is supposed to have improved as part of the town's re-enhancement project.

'Residents need to be educated about how to look after the facilities given to them - it's a disgrace the way some people behave.'

Among the rubbish seen floating in the pond last week were beer bottles, empty drink cans, a traffic cone and food wrappers.

A spokesman for Watford Council said: 'The pond has undergone a major refurbishment as part of the council's commitment to the improvement and enhancement of the town centre.

'We have been advised by Kingcombe Aquacare to allow the pond time to settle down - particularly to give the plant life time to get established.

'The council has an agreement with Kingcombe Aquacare to perform a mini overhaul of the pond on a regular basis and its day-to-day maintenance will be dealt with as part of the overall contract for cleaning the town centre.

'We are sure once all the building work is finished around the pond it will once again become a much-loved focal point for this part of the town centre.'

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