DO NOT BACKFILL WITH SOIL. - You'll end up with a pool of mud. It's a pity you have taken out the liner as the simplest solution would have been to fill the pond with river washed cobbles. You could have made the pond safe and retained the water feature.

Unless you can divert the water flow away from the bowl, you will have to construct the backfill in layers to avoid making a mudbath.

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Phil
Advise rhymes with rise. Advice rhymes with rice.

The pond sounds as though it's sealed without the liner now Phil.

I thought it was a shame to loose the wildlife as well, and I like the idea of filling it with cobbles.

I think a mud bath of sorts is unavoidable, unless you get a pump in there.

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The basin isn't sealed. If it was then it wouldn't be filling up again.

The backfill can be engineered to allow the continuation of water flow beneath the surface and maintain an equilibrium of water retention in a surface layer of topsoil which can be cultivated. The trick is to understand the movement of the water and to determine how much wicking between the layers is required in order to establish that equilibrium.

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Phil
Advise rhymes with rise. Advice rhymes with rice.

Hello,
Just to let the people out there how I got on if anyone is in the same situation. Sorry about the delay in posting but it has been a very wet and cold snowy winter which has delayed everything.
We have not yet finished but the pond is now filled. We filled with soil and kept adding a bit at a time, it did take slowly and we have had moments where it's been very muddy and moments where it's been very soft to walk on.
as it turns out the low-level shelf is the culprit here - next door had to gravel their bottom of garden and although to the back of me has grass, he says when it rains it does flood. Other next door has loads of trees.
I am still waiting for the grass to come, when it rains heavy, puddles form on the soil but don't last long. it did take a lot of earth and patience and I think I have to admit that it's always maybe gonna be wet down there but I think the job this post has homed is finished.
Also, I am still getting about 3 or 4 frogs every day just where the pond used to be!!!!
Thanks everone.