cheers Gary
I can't really help you here, but your question reminded me of an
amusing incident that occurred about 40 years ago. Some people I knew
had a small holding at Blunham in Bedfordshire, very close to the Ivel
and the Great Ouse. They had always wanted their own lake, and when
some land adjacent to theirs became available they bought it so that
they could excavate it to create the lake they wanted. They knew that
it would flood because it was between two stretches of river. When
excavations began, it was found that just under the surface of the
land was a seam of good quality gravel so they contacted a gravel
company, (Sparrows I think) and sold them the gravel, in the terms of
the contract it was agreed that the contractors would landscape the
lake banks and build one or two islands when the seam was exhausted.
All that was done,and Arnold and Peter finished up with their lake,
they got back the money they had spent on the land for the gravel so
they got their lake excavated and landscaped for nothing. They
stocked the lake with trout and made a commercial venture of it.
Sparrows were probably happy too, because they didn't have to
back-fill the hole thay had dug.