Repairs needed to earth bank at Jack’s Lake after leak in dam wall threatened Monken Hadley Common beauty spot  

Steel piling has been used to strengthen the retaining wall along the side of Jack’s Lake in Monken Hadley Common after the bank sprang a leak which was posing a danger to the long-term future of one of Barnet’s most popular beauty spots.

Barnet Council provided a grant of £40,000 from community infrastructure money to pay for the work which will include the restoration of the bank with water loving plants and foliage.

Steel piling was inserted to a depth of 3.5metres along a 25-metre-long section of the retaining wall and then backfilled with 36 tons of pudding clay to provide a permanent plug to stop further leaks.

Dan Tomlinson, MP for Chipping Barnet, was shown progress on the two-week project – above, from left to right, Phil Keown, treasurer of Monken Hadley Common Trust, Dan Tomlinson, Hadley Common duty curator Roger De La Mare, and Steve Johnson, project manager.

Jack’s Lake – established in around 1770 – is one of several ponds which continue from the common through Hadley Wood Golf Course. They are all fed by local streams.

The retaining wall, which holds in Jack’s Lake, is alongside the footpath from Monken Hadley to Cockfosters – where the overflow from the ponds joins Pymmes Brook.

Until the 1950s, Jack’s Lake was a popular boating lake, and it is now the preserve of the Hadley Angling and Preservation Society.

Project leader Martin Vaughan (above) said the leak was causing serious erosion in the retaining bank and had needed a full repair.

The next phase of the project would be to lay coir matting over the top of the piling which would provide growing space for reeds and plants, and which would encourage lakeside wildlife.

Andrew Langford, a volunteer bailiff for the angling society, described to Mr Tomlinson how the vegetation would recover and once again provide a natural habitat.

Mr Tomlinson, who is Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, congratulated the trust on doing so much to safeguard the common and Jack’s Lake and for the support of East Barnet councillor Edith David.

“As a Treasury minister I must say how happy I am to see that £40,000 of public money has been really well spent on stopping a potentially dangerous leak and in ensuring that the public can go on enjoying Jack’s Lake for years to come.”