The leader of the council that banned fishing at a popular lake in Derbyshire has apologised to anglers in an online broadcast which aired 17 November 2025.
The council has found itself at the centre of national controversy after a ban on angling at the Wingerworth Lido was announced publicly in August 2025. The decision has caused huge backlash from the angling community, the Countryside Alliance and local residents, who were not consulted about the plans to ban the popular activity and convert the lake into a ‘biodiversity hub’. Anglers now risk being fined up to £2,500 if they use the lake for their sport.
Nigel Barker, the Labour leader of North East Derbyshire District Council, took to the council’s social media channels to say he was “aware there had been a lot of interest on social media” and in “national newspapers” about the Wingerworth Lido and that he was “sorry to the angling community”.
He said: “Things have got a bit bogged down in process and politics and I think that’s something that hasn’t been very helpful”.
He went on to claim: “What I can say from the outset is that neither myself nor the council are anti-fishing”.
In justifying the decision originally, the council 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 the Countryside Alliance queried the ‘complaints’ using the Freedom of Information Act, the council was forced to confirm 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.
In his statement, Councillor Barker also claimed “the lido has been designated as a local wildlife site. As such the council has a legal duty to protect and improve biodiversity. I don’t think anybody has said that this can’t happen alongside angling but as a council we need to be certain that the pond is being managed in the best way possible. With that in mind we have paused all activities including fishing while we assess the situation”.
The reference to the lido as a “local wildlife site”, which Councillor Barker refers to, was designated by the council themselves and it is unclear what “legal duty”, if any, he is referring to.
The Countryside Alliance, which has spearheaded opposition to the ban alongside local anglers, including local social media influencer BigDuffs fishing, has long argued “angling and biodiversity go hand-in-hand” and that the decision is “totally unjustified”.
Responding to Councillor Barker’s statement, Mo Metcalf-Fisher, the Alliance’s external affairs director said: “An apology is welcome. Anglers and the wider community deserve it. I sincerely hope this marks the start of a genuine change of approach to this whole sorry saga and that angling is reinstated at the Wingerworth Lido where it belongs, thriving alongside nature.
“Let’s not forget, the reason the council is in this mess is exclusively down to them and only them. It’s become a national talking point because of their own inability to recognise the very real hurt their original decision has had on a big section of the community. We shall continue to monitor developments over the coming weeks extremely closely”.
Following public pressure, the council eventually launched a consultation on the future of the Wingerworth Lido, which is currently underway and can be accessed via the council’s website. The consultation closes on 23 November 2025.
Last Monday, 10 November, local residents assembled at a busy public meeting at Smithy Pond, next to the lido, to voice their opposition to the ban. Speakers at the event included Big Duffs Fishing, members of the Clay Cross Angling Association, local businessman Dominic Webb, Wingerworth councillor Ross Shipman and the Countryside Alliance’s Charles Jardine and Mo Metcalf-Fisher.
On Tuesday 11 November, a day after the public meeting, anglers and their supporters returned once more to the offices of NEDDC to attend an ‘extraordinary meeting’ to debate a motion submitted by Independent councillor Ross Shipman.
The motion, which Labour councillors subsequently voted down, would have allowed angling to return to the Wingerworth Lido in the interim period while the council carries out its consultation and deliberations. Additionally, it would have ensured the council report back on the consultation within 6 months with a clear and fair plan for the Lido’s future. The timeline for any conclusion currently remains unclear.
During the meeting, the council’s leader, Nigel Barker, repeatedly claimed the council had not “banned” angling. However, when responding to a member of the public calling out from the public gallery asking, “if I go now can I go fish?”, the leader firmly responded “no”.
Angling has a raft of physical and mental health benefits and is growing in popularity thanks to TV programmes like Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing.
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