An Isle of Wight town council could bid to make a ‘much-loved’ boating lake an Asset of Community Value (ACV) in light of ‘critically low summer water levels’.
Councillor Ian Boyd has proposed a motion that Sandown Town Council (STC) submits an official nomination of Asset of Community Value encompassing the privately owned Sandown Boating Lake and its margins.
Increase nature protections
In a separate motion, he has called for STC to nominate to the Island Nature Forum a proposal for the current boundaries of Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) 262A, Sandown Levels, to be extended to include the entirety of Sandown Boating Lake, including its margins.
Community led activities
His submissions, which will be discussed and voted on at next Monday’s meeting, follow last month’s community volunteer effort to save wildlife at the lake after protracted dry weather caused a sharp decline in water levels.
Thousands of litres of water were poured into the lake from tankers supplied by John Smith of Westridge Limited, Robin Hill and Richard Carter Readymix Concrete.
Assets of Community
When land or buildings are listed by councils as Assets of Community Value, their owners must give the community an opportunity to acquire them should they choose to sell.
The right for local groups to make an ACV nomination was introduced by the Localism Act 2011.
Site of Importance for Nature Conservation
SINCS are known nationally as local wildlife sites and raise awareness of areas’ wildlife significance, particularly in relation to planning and land management decision making.
An STC paper prepared prior to next week’s meeting says,
“Completed in 1930, the lake has been a prominent amenity and much-loved local destination for almost a century, woven into the cultural and social life of the town.
“In recent years, episodes of critically low summer water levels (notably 2020 and 2025) have caused widespread alarm and concern across not only the local community but the entire Isle of Wight.
“Sandown Boating Lake is not just a physical feature of the town; it is a living symbol of collective pride, care, and connection.
“Its history, environmental significance, and the exceptional levels of engagement it inspires-locally and further afield, make it a clear and deserving candidate for designation as an ACV.”
Boyd: The town council will enthusiastically commit to and pursue making plans for the future
Councillor Boyd said,
“The community of Sandown, led by an exceptional group of tireless volunteers to whom we owe a great debt of thanks, has made it absolutely clear how important the lake is, to the people, to the place, and to the natural world so many treasure.
“Making plans for the future, to protect the tremendous work already done, and support the sustainable environmental stewardship of the lake’s special ecology, is something that I believe the town council will enthusiastically commit to and pursue.
“The ACV and SINC nominations now proposed are a very useful start, but there is more to come, especially given the lake’s high priority status within the newly published Isle of Wight Local Nature Recovery Strategy.”
Sandown Town Council will meet at the Broadway Centre at 7pm on Monday 22nd September 2025.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
