RESIDENTS in the Magdale valley have saved a beauty spot from the developers.
Campaigners feared the tranquil Victorian mill dam near Honley could be drained and used for housing.
But Honley Village Community Trust scooped a £45,750 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to buy the pool and stretches of the banks.
Residents and fishermen who have been campaigning to save the pool are jubilant.
Peter Budd, chairman of the Holme Valley Piscatorial Association, said: "We are delighted that the dam's future has been secured.
"Now we can concentrate on further developing the facilities and protecting the environment of this beautiful area."
Association members will maintain and manage the small lake.
For the past 24 years, they have developed the old mill dam for fishing and wildlife conservation.
David Hardy, chairman of the village community trust, said residents could now look forward to a long-term future for the haven.
"Many people are just relieved.
"We are having a meeting next Wednesday in Honley to encourage people, particularly residents of Magdale, to say what should happen to the mill dam."
The purchase also includes sluice gates and the site of the water wheel that fed the old Steps Mill.
The cash will help mend the historic goits and sluice gates.
A grant of £1,500 from Kirklees Council's Environment Unit helped the trust buy additional tracts of land. The lake now tags onto countryside already owned by the trust for use by residents.
An education pack for local schools and anyone wishing to visit the dam is being drawn up.
The pack will outline the site's wildlife, insects, trees and plants.
The mill dam is fed from the River Mag and employs a system of overflows and silt traps to control water levels throughout the year.
Mr Hardy said it was the last remaining mill dam in the Holme Valley.
Next Wednesday's meeting will take place at the Village Hall, Roundway, at 7.30pm.
