A NEGLECTED brook could be returned to its former glory after a community raised £6,000 for its restoration.

Residents have lobbied conservationists and councils to raise cash for the 300-yard stretch of Loughton Brook, which runs parallel with Roding Road, between Alderton Hill and Roding Gardens.

The waterway was dotted with flowers, and a popular spot for visitors while it was maintained by the Brook School during its heyday in the 1980s.

But since the school shut over 20 years ago it has become an eyesore where overgrown brambles are mingled with droves of litter surrounded by broken fences.

Now residents have worked with Roding Valley High School and St Michael's Church to revive its flagging fortunes.

They have secured grants from the Green Arc conservation group, Epping Forest District Council, and Loughton Town Council, and have commissioned a landscape architect to draw up some regeneration plans for the waterway.

Ron Heath, 76, a semi-retired architect who has lived in Loughton for 46 years, said he joined the Loughton Brook Project Group to help restore a valuable local amenity.

He added: "At the moment it is surrounded by railings and it looks quite ugly, with fag packets and other litter stuck in the brambles.

"The intention is to tidy it up so it we can open it up to the public and to make it a haven for wildlife and plants.”

Councillor Ken Angold-Stephens said the project could take up to two years to complete, and the cost could run into tens of thousands of pounds.

He said that once a scheme is agreed following a public consultation, the group would look to secure additional lottery money and funding from local businesses.

"This has been a real community effort. We care about the brook and have been doing litter picks here for years. But now it is time to put a more permanent solution in place which will turn it in to something the community can be proud of."

• Images of the scheme will be on public display at St Michael's Church Hall, in Roding Road, Loughton, between 9am and 5pm on Saturday, April 25, and Saturday, May 2.