Councillor’s bid for a fresh review of angling club’s tenancy at Derbyshire beauty spot fails

Labour controlled NE Derbyshire District Council has already agreed for its withdrawn tenancy at the Wingerworth Lido for tenants Clay Cross Angling Association to be reconsidered at a scrutiny committee meeting on November 17 following a public consultation.

But Independent Cllr Ross Shipman’s latest motion for the council to rescind its planned review and reconsider the whole matter from square one while immediately allowing angling permits for the fishing club in the meantime was voted down at an Extraordinary Meeting on November 11.

Council Leader, Cllr Nigel Barker, said: “Neither I nor the council are against fishing. The process we are going through is not about preventing fishing on the lido or anywhere else.

“It’s about fulfilling this council’s legal obligation given that the lido is a designated local wildlife site and creating a new future for the area that involves more of the community and I would stress that future can include fishing.”

The council explained that originally a formal six-month ‘notice to quit’ was issued by the council in December, 2024, to the fishing club, after considering the views of its Asset Management Board and a letter was received from the club in January, 2025, acknowledging the correspondence, and the lease formally ended on June 30, 2025.

However, the matter has come under reconsideration by the council after angler James Duffy organised an online petition calling for the reinstatement of fishing rights at the Wingerworth Lido which attracted over 5,000 signatures and Independent Cllrs Ross Shipman and David Hancock raised concerns along with the Angling Trust and the Countryside Alliance.

Subsequently, the council voted by a majority at a council meeting in September for the matter to be considered again by the Environment Scrutiny Committee and that views will be sought from concerned parties before recommendations are presented to its Asset Management Board before any final decision.

But Cllr Shipman opposed this outcome claiming the AMB had exceeded its powers in the decision-making process which he claims raised doubts over whether both the original 2024 decision and the September 2025 motion leading to an agreed scrutiny committee meeting and review were lawfully taken and whether they should be quashed.

However, the council’s Monitoring Officer Sarah Sternberg told the meeting the decision was ‘lawful and remains entirely valid’ and that AMB decisions or views work as an executive function so that the council can then make suggestions and recommendations based on these for the final decision-making body, which is the cabinet, to consider.

Ms Sternberg also addressed Cllr Shipman’s claims that the scrutiny committee members had recently met behind closed doors on the Wingerworth Lido matter but Ms Sternberg said this was to ‘address the direction of travel and the preparatory work’ in advance of the formal planned scrutiny meeting on November 17.

Cllr Shipman’s motion, considered at the latest meeting, included a request that the council notes: Concerns that Clay Cross Angling Association is being asked to remove fish from Wingerworth Lido; The council has not paused the Friends of Wingerworth Lido group process; Fishing is currently not allowed at Wingerworth Lido; Claims that the council has not carried out any pond maintenance or equality impact assessments or evaluated the environmental implications of any proposed changes.

It also urged the council to rescind its current plans and immediately allow Clay Cross Angling Association to maintain the welfare of the fish stock, allow angling permits for Wingerworth Lido to be applied for through the council or Wingerworth Parish Council or an angling club, and to prohibit any fish removal or site alterations, as well as stopping the Friends of Wingerworth Lido proposal.

The motion also requested an open and transparent public consultation on the Lido’s future with the whole matter to be reported back to a Full Council meeting within six months on the consultations’ findings with a recommended plan to go to a cabinet meeting for a formal decision.

Cllr Shipman argued the AMB’s role and powers had not previously been made clear during the previous meeting when the council voted for a review because the understanding had been that the AMB was the decision-making body, not the council and not the cabinet.

He said: “It is quite clear to me that the checks and balances in this council have absolutely failed all of us because we took a decision that we had no lawful grounds to take.”

Cllr Shipman added: “Councillors can choose to ignore the public if they wish and die on this hill but I would like to think we all understand our public duty to serve the public and its residents that put us here.

“So let’s use this as an opportunity in front of us to put things right, protect wildlife, show our love for Wingerworth Lido and most importantly follow through with a process that the public can have confidence in going forward.”

Independent Cllr Hancock argued councillors had voted at the last meeting on wording in a motion that he claims was inaccurate at the time creating a legal issue and effectively rendering the original motion void and the only remedy would be to rescind the resolution.

Fellow Independent Cllr Helen Wetherall said: “Whatever the technicalities over what we have done or not done I do think there is merit in going back to square one and reconsidering all of this.”

Council Leader, Cllr Barker, said he found it ‘absolutely phenomenal’ that more time has been spent during the last three weeks talking about Wingerworth Lido than the Government’s far-reaching plans for Local Government Reorganisation.

He argued Cllr Shipman’s claims that the council made procedural errors at its last meeting and that its decision to refer the Wingerworth Lido matter to the Environment Scrutiny Committee was unlawful and unconstitutional are wrong.

Cllr Barker said: “Given the advice we have received from the monitoring officer regarding the lawfulness of that last decision [and] given the scrutiny committee’s work is scheduled to begin shortly and a process is in place to examine this issue and to make recommendations, it’s my opinion that there is no need to rescind the decision made by the council on September 22 or to support Cllr Shipman’s motion.”

Conservative Cllr Alex Dale said there needs to be clearer governance around the AMB and that due to a lack of public confidence in the overall process it should be started again.

Green Party Cllr Frank Adlington-Stringer, ward member for Wingerworth, raised concerns about the division that this issue has created in his community and the attitude of some in the council chamber during the debate and after a number of outbursts from the public.

He claims that Cllr Shipman’s latest motion was extending bureaucracy and that under the current planned review a decision can still be made to allow angling.

Labour Cllr Jayne Barry, Portfolio Holder for Growth and Assets, previously told the council meeting on September 22 that the original decision in 2024 concerning Wingerworth Lido and the withdrawal of the fishing club’s licence had undergone a robust and considered process and, at that time, there had been no objections but the council remains open to public dialogue.

She told the latest meeting the council had looked into complaints about environmental concerns and anti-social behaviour at Wingerworth Lido and it was found that a management agreement with Clay Cross Angling Association had expired 14 years ago and it no longer reflected current activities at the site including night-fishing and that the rent was half what it should have been.

Cllr Barry added there were concerns about the way the pond was being managed and this was expected to contribute to its ecological decline contrary to the council’s statutory environmental responsibilities.

She said the council has acknowledged during debate that some councillors were uncertain of the role of the AMB so a review and scrutiny has already been initiated in the best interests of NE Derbyshire residents.

Cllr Shipman said: “This council has ripped up its own constitution over the course of the last six months. The decisions and how we have got here are wrong. I believe that.

“The case law backs that up and I believe the council has got serious questions to answer over ‘A’ – the last decision that was made and – ‘B’ – the original decision that was made which as we agreed on September 22 was taken by the Asset Management Board.

“So the motion on the table today takes us forward. It solves the transparency issues. The public supports this. This is not about chasing votes.”

However, councillors voted by a majority of 62per cent against Cllr Shipman’s motion which failed with 36per cent of the votes and three abstentions.

An Environment Scrutiny Committee has been set for 3.30pm, on Monday, November 17, at the council offices, on Mill Lane, at Wingerworth, Chesterfield, to review the matter before the Cabinet is expected to make a final decision.

Chairman of Clay Cross Angling Association Bill Parkin has previously stated the fishing club was pleased the matter is at least being reviewed and he hopes fishing will return to Wingerworth Lido.