Babbs Mill Lake, sometimes called Kingshurst Lake, is a man-made

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in the

Kingfisher Country Park Kingfisher Country Park is a country park situated in East Birmingham and the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in England. Initially designated as Project Kingfisher by Birmingham City Council, the park was formally declared a country park in Ju ...

Kingshurst Kingshurst is a post-war housing estate and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands. It lies about east of Birmingham city centre. Smith's Wood borders it to the north and east, Fordbridge to the south and th ...

Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe i ...

in England. The lake was created as a balancing feature in times of flooding from the nearby River Cole.

History

The lake gives its name to Babbs Mill Park, created to commemorate the

Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II The Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the 25th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was celebrated with large-scale parties and parades throughout the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth throughout 1977, ...

in 1977. It was designated a Local Nature Reserve in 2002. In March 2016, Solihull Council's

planning committee A planning committee in the United Kingdom is a committee of local authority councillors that sit as the local planning authority to determine planning applications. Advice is usually given to the committee by planning officers who provide a reco ...

approved a scheme to build 52 houses on land amounting to approximately seven per cent of the reserve. Since August 2019, Babbs Mill Lake has hosted a

parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...

, a free, weekly timed 5 km run/walk, every Saturday morning at 9am.

2022 children drownings

On 11 December 2022, four children fell through ice formed on the surface. On 12 December it was confirmed that three of the children had died, with the fourth child remaining in hospital in critical condition. It was announced on 14 December that the fourth child had died in hospital. An

inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...

hearing held on the 19 December found that all four deaths were due to

drowning Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others present are either unaware of the victim's situation or unable to offer a ...

; a full inquest is due to take place on 6 July 2023.

References

Solihull Lakes of the West Midlands (county) Local Nature Reserves in the West Midlands (county) 2022 disasters in the United Kingdom Disasters in the West Midlands (county) {{WestMidlands-geo-stub