Few heard of the Wingerworth Lido up until a few months ago but, to many anglers and country folk, it is now seen as the epicentre of the wider struggle to protect fishing from animal rights zealots and town hall bureaucrats. As I write this, the lido, which had been happily fished by locals since World War II, finds itself splashed across a national newspaper under the headline: “Dismay at fishing lake ‘left to decay’ after angling ban” complete with the picture of a dead carp retrieved from the water lying next to a bin.
The Wingerworth Lido was suddenly closed to anglers earlier this year by the Labour-controlled North East Derbyshire District Council after it chose not to renew the local Clay Cross Angling Association’s licence. At the time, the council said this was part of plans to turn the area into a “biodiversity hub” much to the confusion of local anglers who had spent years nurturing the cherished space, ensuring it thrived not only for fish but other wildlife. At no point had the local community been consulted on the ban.
To add insult to injury the council also claimed they had a received ‘a number of complaints’ regarding Wingerworth Lido over recent years, some of which were directly related to fishing activities carried out by the angling club.
After querying these so-called ‘complaints’ using the Freedom of Information Act the council was forced to confirm to the Countryside Alliance that of the three ‘formal complaints’ made over a period spanning two and a half years none resulted in any sanctions or warnings to the club. This immediately set alarm bells ringing and the rest of the story has been worthy of a Netflix drama.
Following a series of stories in the national media, including an interview on GB News, a petition by local angler James ‘Big Duffs’ Duffy and the political intervention of an independent councillor, the council was finally forced to debate the ban at a full meeting open to the public in September. Attended by local anglers brandishing Alliance placards, the council begrudgingly agreed for the withdrawn tenancy at the Wingerworth Lido to be reconsidered by a ‘scrutiny committee’ later this year, with the final decision resting with something the council calls its ‘Asset Management Board’.
A logical conclusion to a blatant mistake? Not quite. Shortly after the meeting an email was leaked, showing that on the same day as the council met to discuss overturning the ban a council employee had been hastily requesting that the fish be removed from the lido as soon as possible. The council said the angling association had told staff they were going to have the fish removed after the ban and were only pursuing their wishes. However, Bill Parkin, the association’s chairman, said he had received no response to his email to the council making it clear that the fish belonged to the club and must remain in the lido.
Then there was confusion over whether the ban was enforceable and despite a written request for clarity from the Countryside Alliance over whether it was still in place owing to the reconsideration, the council did not respond. Eventually the council released a statement robustly defending its position claiming that while it had not banned angling the activity was not permitted. The mind boggles.
It has also, so far, not replied to important questions regarding the transparency of decisions taken by its ‘Asset Management Board’, where the decision over angling at the lido ultimately lies. Additionally, the council is reportedly facing legal action over the handling of the decision.
While it is obvious to argue the council should never have banned angling in the first place, it is abundantly clear to anyone that the council’s political leadership should, at the very least, have immediately realised the error of their ways, apologised and reinstated the activity at the earliest opportunity. Instead, the council has dragged its feet and in so doing exacerbated local anger and piled up the negative press coverage. Even worse, the lido has been left deprived of its most faithful friend and guardian, the angler, who could previously have been credited with maintaining an actual ‘biodiversity hub’.
This is a sorry tale that will eventually end with the council reinstating angling but it is also about more than a ban at one lake in Derbyshire; it is a reminder of the scale of challenges facing everything that we all hold so dear, coming at us from every level of government. Be in no doubt that the Alliance will always be on the front line to fight back robustly.