PEOPLE in Clackmannanshire are being asked to share what they know about the area of water in Pond Wood.

Alloa Park Residents' Association (APRA) is appealing for memories and factual titbits that could help to build a picture of its history.

It is believed the water is what is known as an oxbo lake – a cut-off area that was originally part of the Black Devon River.

There is the suggestion it could once have been a stew pond, although there is no evidence of this as yet, which is a place to keep fish fresh prior to eating.

APRA, a voluntary group whose members have an interest in the future of Alloa Park, the architectural and environmental characteristics of the development, is keen to find out more.

It would like to collate some more information on the pond, find out what it was used for, how long it may have been there and details of its past.

Chair of the association, Alan Blue, said: "It's been some sort of ornamental pond for a long time, might be 200 years or more, and we would like local people to tell us their history of the pond.

"Maybe they've got some old photographs, perhaps of people skating on it – or there's some possibility that it might have been a stew pond."

This search comes alongside work on a woodland management plan and the group would also like to apply for money through the Woods In and Around Town (WIAT).

These grants aim to tackle the barriers people face to visiting or benefitting from woodlands on a regular basis; they focus on location, accessibility and management to encourage local people to use them.

The overarching thought is to improve the area of Pond Wood, which is thought to be hundreds of years old.

Alan said: "I'm told there are plants there, again as part of this process, that show that wood is at least 300 years old because there are plants that only exist in old woods."

The work is the latest in a long-line for the association, which previously attracted nearly £10,000 in a grant from Keep Scotland Beautiful to clean-up the River Devon.

In addition, it managed to get a further £10,000 from the Forestry Commission to improve North Wood, located in front of the Mar Policies residential area.

APRA is holding a public event next month in order to get some feedback from the community and would welcome people to pop along and share their thoughts.

Alan said: "We're going to hold a meeting at the Hawkhill Centre at 7.30pm on Tuesday the sixteenth of May for people to consult, look at the plan, give us any views that they want to give about what we hope to achieve with our woodland management plan.

"In particular [it's for] proprieters and residents of Alloa Park Residents' Association – there's 343 properties that are currently in the association and more under construction, might end up with around 500 houses down there."

To get in touch with any stories or photos of the pond, please email Alan on alloapark@gmail.com