river calder access

[binner]

firstly can i bring this up from the very first session

We are always looking at providing improved sustainable access for all river users where possible. This year we have improved access on a pond situated at Allerton Bywater. We have created a new accessible footpath (suitable for wheelchair users) along with two new fishing platforms. The EA owns this land and allow you to fish for free.

We have also created a number of fishing platforms on the Aire upstream of Castleford Weir where wheelchair access is also available.

If you have any suggestions where we may increase access either on the river or a stillwater, we would be very happy to consider supporting your proposal.

Read more: yorksfishing.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=ea240311&action=display&thread=19904#ixzz1mXKOxYkA

now, what about the river calder in wakefield below chantry bridge?
people have been taking good nets of fish in and just below the weir pool in the warmer months but there is only around 5 or 6 swims where you can access to the waters edge, below this the water gets deeper and the fish move down in the cooler months, however the bank is very steep, almost vertical and varies between 4 and 8ft high. would it be at all possible to have say 6 platforms installed like the ones on the aire in castleford below the pegs that are already there? allowing anglers to then fish the deeper water where the fish are all year round.
i have approched wakefield council about this but they tell me they do not own the land, the area already has well used flat solid footpath along it too. does the land belong to the EA or british waterways?

[envagencyyorkshire]

Thank you for your question.

We agree the River Calder has really come on in the past few years and the diversity of species in that stretch of water is truly remarkable.

We can only install platforms on land which we own or where we can do the work as part of a partnership project, for example with an Angling Club who have the landowners permission to do works. I’ve checked with our Estates Department and we definitely don’t own the riverbank at that point. Their feeling is that it may belong to the garage through riparian ownership.

At the moment we haven’t been approached by any organisations to ask for our help with access on that part of the river so we are unable to do any work there at the moment.

If you can find out who has ownership of the riverbank and get their support we’d be happy to look at doing some work with them.

Peter Mischenko
Fisheries Officer (Calder catchment)

[binner]

thankyou for that, i brung the same thing up with wakefield council and got more or less the same response, so i shall be calling into the garage one day