Martin Watkins - 26-Sep-2007
More and more people in Wales are going
fishing as Environment Agency Wales figures
show an increase in people buying a rod
licence.
By the end of August , there had been an
increase of almost 9% in the amount of people
buying a licence in Wales compared to the
same period last year. The money from rod
licence sales is vital to help maintain
and improve the sport in Wales.
Over the last few years, through funding
by the Welsh Assembly Government, the Agency
has been able to encourage people to try
angling for the first time. Angling participation
events, run with angling clubs, fishery
owners, youth organisations and schools,
are proving a great way to get people involved
in the sport.
Environment Agency Wales Fisheries Manager,
Andy Schofield said:
"Given the poor weather this summer
we were expecting a slowdown in our licence
sales. But, the exceptional results we’ve
seen this year, building on the increases
in previous years, show the efforts of angling
clubs and their coaches has paid off.
"As well as promoting the benefits
of angling, our officers are also working
hard to catch those who cheat the system
by fishing without a licence."
Money from rod licence sales goes directly
towards protecting and improving fisheries
in Wales."
Some examples of the improvements made
using rod licence monies include:
The Penllergaer Pond project, Swansea,
where we helped a community group to restore
a small pond, creating a brand new community
fishery for local young people to use.
Porthcawl Community Fisheries - Developing
Wilderness Lake in Porthcawl, dredging the
lake to improve water quality for fish,
creating new areas of bank-side vegetation
and improving access by installing more
than 20 angling platforms around the pond.
Torfaen Angling Participation Project is
an ongoing partnership between angling clubs,
the Environment Agency and sports lottery.
The aim is to provide more angling opportunities
for local people, by training clubs members
as angling coaches so they can then introduce
the sport to local people who might not
have had the opportunity to try it previously.
TAPP has also improved facilities and access
at three fisheries in the area.
Cwm Hedd, Newport , Gwent – We have worked
with the owners of the lake, and the British
Disabled Angling Association to improve
access to the fishery for wheelchair users.
Habitat improvements on the Lower Dee -
Tree clearance and planting of reed beds
on the River Dee upstream of Eccleston has
provided ideal spawning and fry nursery
habitat for coarse fish. We have also, installed
and maintained fishing platforms on the
river.
Moss Valley Lake, near Wrexham has been
reinvigorated with help from rod licence
funding. We worked with Wrexham Council
to build 50 new fishing pegs and access
paths. Following this the Moss Valley Angling
Club was formed, which now has 200 adult
and youth members.
Rod licences can be bought online at any
time of day or night simply by visiting
www.environment-agency.co.uk/rodlicence.
You can pay using your debit or credit card
to make sure that your days fishing doesn't
end up as a day in court.
Alternatively call our sales office on
0870 1662662 which is open from 8am - 8pm,
seven days a week from March until October.
They are also available at any Post Office
in England and Wales.
+ More
Environment Agency unveils record £13m
works plan for waterways
Head Office Press Office - 26-Sep-2007
Environment Agency unveils record £13m
works plan for waterways
A bumper £13.2 million will be spent
on essential repairs and improvements to
hundreds of navigational sites and structures
along Environment Agency-managed rivers
this winter.
Announcing the record level of spending
for the 2007-2008 works programme, Julia
Simpson, Head of Recreation, Navigation
and Marine, said: "Our teams of engineers
and divers are ready to get to work on a
host of projects over the forthcoming months.
"Thanks to enhanced funding from the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (Defra), we have made great strides
in tackling much-needed jobs, such as replacing
old lock gates, on our waterways over the
past two years. These crucial works help
to make the rivers safer and more accessible,
so it’s great that we’ve got the support
to carry on making progress.
"We know the public - from boaters
to canoeists to towpath strollers - want
better mooring facilities, more landing
stages and improved walkways. We also believe
this investment will help encourage more
people to get out and about, be fit and
active and enjoy the nation’s magnificent
inland waterways."
The River Thames heads the winter programme,
with almost £6 million-worth of much-needed
works being carried out over the forthcoming
months. The largest project will take place
at Teddington where £850,000 will
be spent on major repairs to the Lock Island,
including the stabilisation of banks that
are collapsing because of erosion exacerbated
by this summer’s exceptional rain and fast
flows.
Pinkhill Lock will also undergo a vital
£500,000 refurbishment and public
power will be installed at Godstow, Clifton,
Mapledurham and Marsh Locks. This work will
allow boaters to open lock gates automatically,
rather than manually, when the lock keeper
is off duty.
Meanwhile, the continuation of a five-year
programme to replace landing stages along
the River Great Ouse, and the on-going restoration
of a unique scheduled monument - South Ferriby
Lock, are just two of a range of diverse
projects that will be taking place in our
Anglian Region, which includes Norwich,
Peterborough and Lincoln.
Work on installing nine new landing stages
on the River Great Ouse by 2012 got underway
earlier this year with the replacement of
the Castle Mills Downstream Landing Stage
and another replacement is planned for this
winter.
Almost £200,000 has also been earmarked
for further renovations to the lock at South
Ferrriby. Working closely with English Heritage,
who must approve all alterations to the
historic structure built back in 1842, we
will be modifying the system for filling
and emptying the lock, replacing access
steps and carrying out general safety works
around the site.
In all, £2.7 million of Defra-funding
will be spent on upgrading navigational
sites and structures in this region. A further
£2.5 million from external partners
will also pay for the start of Phase 1 of
the Fens Waterways Link - preparation work
for the building of a new lock at Boston.
Planning permission has just been granted
for the lock, which will be situated at
Black Sluice on London Road, and construction
work is due to start early next year.
The Link will eventually create a new circular
waterway route through the Fens. The Boston
Lock, which is being built in partnership
with Lincolnshire County Council, the East
Midlands Development Agency and Government
Office East Midlands and cost a total £8
million, is the first key to this Link,
connecting the tidal Boston Haven to the
South Forty Foot Drain.
Finally, almost £2 million will be
spent on 15 projects on Kent’s River Medway.
Among the works to be undertaken between
November to March here will be:
• A £400,000 refurbishment of Hampstead
Lock. This will include the restoration
of old lock walls and the installation of
new safety and mooring bollards
• Improvement works at Allington, also
totalling around £400,000. This will
include stabilising an eroding bank, better
facilities for the boats currently moored
there and the creation of a new, safer slipway
• The ‘re-skinning’ of Oak Weir Lock gates.
This will involve replacing dilapidated
gate timbers with new ones to give the gates
a further 15 years of life.
All winter works are scheduled to be completed
by March but, following the summer floods,
the Environment Agency is warning that projects
could again be disrupted by high flows on
the rivers this winter.
"Above average rainfall over several
months created tough, sometimes impossible,
working conditions for our divers and engineers
last winter," Julia Simpson said. "Following
the devastating deluges of June and July
we could well be in for more of this same
this time around. As always, we will work
hard to finish jobs on time, but where nature
forces us to down tools I’d urge people
to be patient - we will get there as quick,
but as safely, as we can!"
To help boaters plan their journeys on
the River Thames this winter, the Environment
Agency has produced a handy map, detailing
what work is taking place and how long locks
will be closed. The map will be regularly
updated once the works get underway and
the latest version can be downloaded at
www.visitthames.co.uk/winterworks
http://www.visitthames.co.uk/winterworks
You can also call our Floodline number
for updates on 0845 988 1188 followed by
Option 1 followed by quick dial number 011132.
Alternatively you can register for electronic
updates by emailing visitthames@environment-agency.gov.uk
For the latest information about works in
the Anglian Region and the River Medway,
click onto www.environment-agency.gov.uk/navigation
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/navigation
