About the Lakes
Marsh Lane Lakes
A series of interconnected gravel pits south of Marsh Lane, Hemingford Grey: around 50 acres of water and 23 acres of woodland and scrub, all within the Marsh Lane Gravel Pits County Wildlife Site.
The place
The lakes were created by gravel extraction that began in the early 1940s. Since extraction finished, the pits have flooded and the site has rewilded itself into a mix of open water, reedbed, willow and scrub that supports otters, herons, kingfishers, wildfowl and, in the scrub, nightingales.
The London Anglers Association has run a coarse fishery here on season permits for many years. Residents, with walking permits, have walked its margins since the early 1980s; during Covid many more people discovered the lakes, and the feedback from the September meetings was that it stayed quiet and was good for meeting like-minded walkers.
The lakes are not connected to the River Great Ouse. The whole site lies in flood zone 3a.
The owner and the sale
The site is owned by Tarmac. It was promoted through Huntingdonshire District Council's Call for Sites in 2023 for around 70 residential moorings, but the council's Preferred Options Draft Local Plan (October 2025) made no allocations in Hemingford Grey. In July 2026 Tarmac confirmed that it intended to dispose of the lakes. Its agent has given a guide price of £650,000 for the area covered by the ACV listing.
A short history
- Early 1940s
Gravel extraction begins
Sand and gravel worked from the fields south of Marsh Lane, continuing through the 1960s.
- Early 1980s
Extraction finishes and the lakes form
Limited public access permitted. The lakes become a coarse fishery run by the London Anglers Association.
- 2019
Listed as an Asset of Community Value
Hemingford Grey Parish Council lists the lakes as an ACV under the Community Right to Bid.
- 2020 to 2023
Extraction resumes south of Lake Ashmore
Further sand and gravel working to the south, with restoration and aftercare obligations that continue for several years.
- 2023 to 2025
Tarmac promotes the site for residential moorings
Call for Sites 2023 proposes around 70 berths. The district council's draft Local Plan (October 2025) does not allocate the site.
- July 2026
Tarmac confirms its intention to dispose of the lakes
The Parish Council triggers the six-month moratorium, running to 7 January 2027, and forms a community steering group.
What the community wants the lakes to be
Around 200 residents came to the two public meetings on 10 September 2026 and left their views on sticky notes. This is the summary; it will shape the bid and any future management plan.
Yes to
- A nature reserve first, improving biodiversity
- Quiet walking routes, benches, information boards
- Bird hides and an otter sanctuary
- Fishing retained, with permits funding upkeep
- Open to all, with disabled and pushchair access
- Dogs welcome, kept under control near nesting birds
- Youth groups, school links, pond dipping, forest school
- Volunteering and community working parties
- Keeping it much as it is now
No to
- Housing or houseboats
- Commercial development
- Watersports on the lake
- Bikes on the paths
- Turning it into a playground
- Over-clearing the scrub (the nightingales need it)
- Large car parks and extra traffic on Marsh Lane
- Paved paths, handrails and an over-formal feel
Still to decide
- Parking: none, or a small area of five or six spaces, and how to manage security
- Access: a permit system, or open access beyond the Hemingfords
- Whether to introduce new species
- Small hut or base for Scouts and wildlife groups
These are open questions for the Community Use group. Nothing is fixed.