WILTON Pond is in line for a much-needed rejuvenation thanks to a grant from Pewsey Area Board.

Grafton Parish Council’s bid for a £1,591 grant was approved on Monday evening.

The project will cost £7,964 and the rest of the funding will come from North Wessex Downs AONB Sustainable Development Fund.

A petition in support of the project received 773 signatures, including 280 from visitors to the area.

Susie Brew, from the parish council, said: “This is a community project, but the parish council is leading it.

“We have what used to be a very beautiful pond and it still has the potential to be very beautiful but, unfortunately, it has got very silted up over the years.

“Where we used to have quite a lot of wildlife we have nothing – there’s no fish, no ducks, no water voles – and it’s all to do with the fact that the level of the pond is so shallow now that nothing could really live in there.

“It sits on what we call Circular Walk, which takes people from Wilton Windmill, through the village, past the Crofton beam engines and along the Roman Road. It’s well visited by tourists and locals alike.”

The work will include removing silt from the pond and planting around the edge to encourage wildlife to use it. Residents have offered 32 hours of voluntary work to complete the project.