"It's like being kicked in the teeth": Anglers speak up after decision to convert popular fishing pond into biodiversity hub

The lake, also known as Smithy Pond, has been a popular fishing spot since World War Two, but is now set to become a biodiversity hub – leaving anglers without the right to fish.

Bill Parkin, chairman of the Clay Cross Angling Association, has been fishing at Wingerworth Lido since 1970.

He said: “I’ve lost interest in fishing after we lost our licence. It happened out of the blue after years of putting the time and effort to take care of the pond. It’s like being kicked in the teeth.

"Fishing is the biggest pastime in the country. It’s relaxing, you enjoy nature and you don’t worry about anything else. It’s really good for mental health.”

The council initially made the decision at the end of last year, and the Angling Association was handed in a six month notice in January, informing them that their licence would not be renewed.

Callum Dovison, an angling club member who has been fishing at Wingerworth Lido for 10 years, said: “When the council first decided that they would not prolong our licence at the end of last year, someone posted about it on social media before the club was even informed.

"90% of locals who were stopping to talk to us while we were fishing, were unhappy with the decision. It’s a very small minority of people that are in favour of the new changes.”

The North East Derbyshire District Council said that the previous five year licence agreement with the angling association has come to a ‘natural end’ and the plans to convert Smithy Pond into a ‘biodiversity hub’ reflected the council’s commitment to ‘enhancing local wildlife and protecting the environment’.

But both anglers and local residents raised concerns over the future of the pond with no clear plan to carry out maintenance works, which were previously taken care of by the angling club.

Mr Parkin said: “It will go to wrack and ruin. We take care of the pond, we feed the fish and ducks. In the winter we feed them with winter plankton and crash ice.

“We monitor oxygen levels and weed growth. If oxygen levels are low, we can see the fish gasping for air and we have a pump to add more oxygen.

"Now, with the hot weather oxygen levels are lower. We would have put a pump now to oxidise the water if we still had the licence.

“We are very experienced with nature and we can see what’s wrong with fish and birds.”

Local residents have echoed Mr Parkin’s concerns about the future of the pond and the surrounding area.

John Matkin, a concerned Wingerworth resident, said: “I used to enjoy having a chat with the fishermen on my walks.

“I was talking to locals who also walk around the pond and some ladies were saying it gave them a sense of security to come here for a walk in the evening or early in the morning when fishermen were around.

“I’ve been litter picking around the pond. If fishermen are not here, it could attract all kinds of anti-social behaviour and littering. This place could be taken over by druggies when fishermen are not around.

“I don’t understand the decision. Fishing is good for health and mental health, but it seems that the council don’t care.”

Charles Ives, a Wingerworth resident, who was walking his dog near the pond, said: “It’s a shame to just close it and leave it. I brought my son here fishing and then my grandson. It helped them learn about nature. From my experience fishermen respect all wildlife.”

But Frank Adlington-Stringer, a Green Party councillor for Wingerworth, who strongly supports the decision to convert Wingerworth Lido into a biodiversity hub, said: “If there is an opportunity for us to prioritise biodiversity and nature, then I think that it's a positive step and one that we should be taking.

"There are enormous benefits that it can have, and there are so many opportunities ahead of us.

"The issues at Wingerwoorth Lido are the number one thing that has been reported to me by concerned residents since 2023. I had a serious number of complaints about this.

"We had reports of nuisance but also reports related to angling club. There was trouble with animals being caught in fishing line, all sorts of problems with swans. There was report of blue dye being used in the lake, and police investigated that."

Andrew Parkin, committee member Clay Cross Angling Club, explained that the club used a non-toxic Dyofix dye to control the weeds growth in the pond.

Dyofix is a brand of non-toxic pond dyes used to control algae and weeds by reducing sunlight penetration, disrupting photosynthesis.

Andrew said: “People don’t ask what we are doing and why, they just make assumptions. Someone reported us to police for using blue dye, because they thought it was herbicidal.

“It’s not herbicidal. It’s a non-toxic colouring, which stops UV light from penetrating to the bottom of the lake. It stops the weeds from over growing.

“Weeds produce oxygen during the day, but they absorb it at night. If you have too much weeds, ducks won’t land, toads will get stuck, fish might not have enough oxygen.

“And when the weeds die, every year they set at the bottom of the pond and every year you lose a bit of a pond and it becomes more shallow. That’s what happened at other ponds.”

Derbyshire police investigated reports of blue dye being used in Smithy Pond after a single complaint from a member of the public in May 2023.

In a statement issued following the investigation Derbyshire Rural Crime confirmed that ‘extensive ecological surveys’ were carried out on Wingerworth Lido and results have shown that Clay Cross Angling Association was ‘not committing any offences whilst using Dyo-Fix in compliance with the manufacturers recommended qualities in their club water.’

The statement adds that during visits to Wingerworth Lido, the officer carrying out the investigation ‘observed an abundance of healthy and happy wildlife’ on numerous occasions.

Bill Parkin said: “We had Environmental Agency inspector here and he said it was one of the best ponds he has seen.

"As an angling club we needed a council permission and we followed the rules. Now people are fishing here without any permission and we can’t do anything about it.”

Callum added: “Incidents with animals being caught in fishing lines are very rare. The mainly happen with inexperienced anglers or children. We didn’t have any incidents like this. We recently had reports of a dead swan, but it came from another pond and was attacked by other swans because they are very territorial.”

Ross Shipman, North East Derbyshire District Council member for Tupton, expressed further concerns about the lack of a clear plan for the future of the pond – including potential negative impacts for the wildlife.

He said: “The issue is that the District Council's taking the decision without thinking through the consequences of that decision. So my opinion is that while they've got nobody to look after it, the angling club should have been left where they were maintaining it and managing that pond.

"There are weeds growing there and they eventually will cover the ponds. And if they cover the pond, they'll suffocate the wildlife within the pond, and this will just die off.

"There's no reason that the wider area can't become a biodiversity hub. But the fishing club were enhancing that prospect, not harming it.

"The reality is that the District Council are now asking the community to come and take over and run it.

"This licence was cancelled months ago and they're still trying to find people that will go and maintain it.

"If they can't find someone to maintain it, the knock on effect of that is taxpayers going to pick up that tap to maintain it, while the angling club were doing it for free.”

An NEDDC spokesperson said: “The previous 5 year licence agreement with the angling association has come to a natural end and we've decided not to renew this.

"The Council has 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.

"We are also aware of incidents reported to the Police. While these concerns were not the sole reason for the decision not to renew the Club’s licence, they were taken into account as part of a broader review of the site’s future.

"The Council has always retained responsibility for maintaining the Lido, and that will continue.”

Clay Cross Angling Association said they did not receive any official complaints against the club.