For more than ten years, the Village Green and Town End Pond at Middleton, Pickering, have been the focus of numerous efforts to improve the area and attract local wildlife, with the aim of bringing back the Great crested newt.

The residents have long been trying to prevent 'toxic water' from overflowing into the pond.

Stuart Plant said: "Over years residents have been attempting to prevent the overflow of toxic water from the highways into the pond, but at best they can only seek to mitigate the effects by designing appropriate filtration and defences. 
"After the pond was cleaned out in January 2023, a major project has been undertaken to reinstate the pond which will be completed by the August 14, when it will be re-opened as a community resource at the Annual Village Show."
The reintroduction of the pond will transform it into a community resource.
Stuart said: "The regular 'Pond Watch' has this far seen the return of swallows and swifts, newts, tadpoles, waterborne insects, butterflies, a variety of small birds, ducks and moorhens."

In addition to the restoration work, a unique planting scheme has also been launched, enabling groups and individuals to adopt and maintain one of the eight designated plots around the pond, further enhancing its flora and fauna.