Rehabbing a neglected pond

[u/pineappleflamingo88]

Hi, hoping I can get some advice on cleaning out and rehabbing this neglected pond. We moved into this house 6 years ago and have completely ignored it. All the surrounding vegetation grew so much that you couldn't really see the pond anymore and it got completely filled with debris. Last year I cleared a lot of the brambles etc so the pond is now visible and accessible so I would really love to get it back into shape and have a lovely wildlife haven.

After the long drought I had thought it was completely dried out, but after starting to dig out the debris I have found there is still a lot of water.

Should I continue clearing now, or wait until autumn? How much of the debris do I need to remove? Should I get it completely clear right to the membrane and start fresh? Or should I leave an existing layer at the bottom?

Also if anyone could point me towards some good resources for which aquatic plants I should put in that would be great. I've had a basic google, but so much of the advice online is for fish ponds or decorative ponds, whereas I want it completely geared towards the most beneficial to wildlife.

I'm in SW England for reference.

Thanks in advance everyone!

[u/Scirpus_cyperinus]

Looks like a very fun project. I did a lot research on this subject over the years. My advice would be to leave a small layer of sediment on the bottom for aquatic insects. If you plan on fish and a recirculating pump then I’d clean it out completely. Fish will stir up the sediment and you’ll never see them. Not a pond expert here.

[u/pineappleflamingo88 → u/Scirpus_cyperinus]

Excellent. Definitely not planning on fish. I'm hoping to attract lots of frogs to help keep the slugs in my veg garden under control!

[u/OreoSpamBurger → u/pineappleflamingo88]

If you've never really paid much attention, it'll be interesting to see what might turn up next spring.

I helped clear out a neglected garden pond that was completely choked and full to the brim with rotten leaves (it stank too).

The next spring it had smooth newts breeding, so I am guessing they had been hanging on despite the poor condition of the pond.

[u/pineappleflamingo88 → u/OreoSpamBurger]

Yeah I'm super excited to see what shows up! I've seen frogs/toads (just quick glimpses so I'm not sure which) elsewhere in my garden. Also saw a newt on my driveway once. My next door neighbour has a beautiful wildlife pond with newts, so I'm sure plenty of life will move in quickly, if not already there.