Forge Dam: Fears for future of popular Sheffield tourist attraction despite £500,000 repairs

The pond at 250-year-old Forge Dam is very low, exposing islands of mud - just as it was before a 10-year de-silting project.

The Friends of the Porter Valley group is “very worried about whether the dam is seriously damaged.”

The picturesque site has a popular cafe and is rammed with people at weekends. But it has been badly affected by the driest August since 2003.

FOPV chair, Ann LeSage, says an old sluice gate in the dam is broken and at times all of the Porter Brook goes down it, instead of maintaining water levels in the pond.

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She said: “People love to sit there and have a picnic but I’ve lost count of the number of people asking what’s going on. I just want it to look right for the future.”

The problems come after more than £500,000 was spent last year on a de-silting project to reduce sediment and ‘restore the amenity value’ of Forge Dam, which the Friends spent 10 years raising money for.

They have raised yet more to repair the sluice, or ‘penstock’, but are feeling frustrated after waiting eight months for council-commissioned feasibility studies into repairs, Ann added.

Councillor Kurtis Crossland, chair of the communities, parks and leisure committee at Sheffield City Council, said: “The drier weather over the past couple of months has left the water levels at the Forge Dam significantly lower than usual and this, coupled with a leaking sluice, has led to concerns amongst local residents and visitors to the area.

“We want to reassure anyone with concerns that we are working hard to find a solution to this problem.

“The council has engaged a specialist civil engineering company to undertake the investigation work, which we hope will provide a resolution. We expect the outcome of this work within the next few weeks and once we have the proposal, we will commission this work to take place as quickly as possible.

“We are grateful to the Friends of the Porter Valley, who remain supportive and who do amazing work to conserve and protect the area. We fully appreciate it has taken more time than expected to repair the Dam, following the completion of the desilting project. We apologise for this and can give assurances that we are prioritising this work.”