An under-fire Derbyshire council that banned angling to create a “biodiversity hub” has buckled after furious backlash and agreed to reconsider whether to reinstate a fishing club’s licence and its terminated tenancy to allow anglers back at the Wingerworth Lido.
Labour-controlled North East Derbyshire District Council voted by a majority for the withdrawn tenancy at the Wingerworth Lido with tenants Clay Cross Angling Association to be reconsidered at a scrutiny committee meeting as part of ongoing plans to preserve the beauty spot as a “biodiversity hub”.
Local anglers and representatives of the Countryside Alliance assembled outside the district council office ahead of the meeting on September 22 brandishing signs stating: “Love nature, keep angling”.
The decision to review the controversial decision followed Independent Cllr David Hancock’s submitted motion calling for greater openness and transparency with a review of the original findings and a public consultation before the matter comes back to the council for a final decision.
Cllr Hancock told the meeting: “Residents do not feel the reasons have been fully explained or that they have been given a proper say and what happens affects trust in the council.”
He added: “We are asking the council to review the decision and report back to balance the well-being and wishes of residents.”
Independent Cllr Ross Shipman also told the meeting that to take the lido away from the angling club without a public consultation is a ‘travesty’ and he argued good governance had failed because only three councillors had been consulted before a decision was taken.
Both Cllrs Hancock and Shipman also pointed out the positive benefits of fishing for anglers’ well-being and for the environment.
Following an amendment to Cllr Hancock’s original motion, the council voted by an 89per cent majority for the matter to be considered by the Environment Scrutiny Committee, and that views be sought from concerned parties before recommendations were presented to the ‘Asset Management Board’ before any final decision.
The outcome of the meeting has left question marks over whether the angling ban is currently live and if anyone fishing at the lido still faces a fine until a final decision is made. Rural campaigners have also raised concerns about the accountability and transparency of decisions made by the ‘Asset Management Board’.
Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs at Countryside Alliance who attended the meeting, said he welcomed the decision to review the ban, but warned the council not to ‘delay’.
He said: “The council should never have banned angling at the Wingerworth Lido; there was no justification for doing so and it has caused considerable hurt, upset and anger locally. We will be scrutinising the upcoming process of review robustly and shall continue to lobby local councillors. After yesterday’s decision, the heat has been turned up. The council’s reputation is on the line. It would be extremely unwise for its leadership to think it can hide behind the mysterious ‘Asset Management Board’ and be done with it. The community expects to see angling returned to the lido, without delay”.
He added: “It was an honour to stand alongside local anglers at the meeting. The Countryside Alliance will keep up the pressure, with the community, for as long as it takes. I am confident angling can return to the lido, it’s now just a question of how long the council wants to drag it out. I’d advise them in the strongest terms to get on with reinstating angling quickly.”
Local angler James ‘Big Duffs’ Duffy, who also attended the meeting, has organised an online petition calling for the reinstatement of fishing rights at the Wingerworth Lido which has so far attracted over 5,000 signatures. The petition remains live.
Mr Duffy said removing fishing at the lido hurts the community not least because the angling club has worked to maintain fishing, water quality and the surrounding land and it has become an important place for well-being and friendship.
In an earlier public statement, NEDDC claimed it had 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. The council has since confirmed to the Countryside Alliance via Freedom of Information Act requests that of the three ‘formal complaints’ made to it over a period spanning two and a half years, none resulted in any sanctions or warnings to the club.
Clay Cross Angling Association Chairperson Bill Parkin said that in 25 years the only complaints he is aware of were those made in July, 2024, and that the anglers maintain the area and the main concern has been for a blue vegetable dye used in the water to slow down weed growth but this was endorsed by the Environment Agency.
A formal legal challenge, launched by Dominic Webb, a resident and business owner, who has written to the council threatening a judicial review unless the ban is suspended while a public consultation is carried out remains ongoing.
