A popular recreational fishery in Derry has announced it is shutting for good.
Glenowen Fisheries announced in a Facebook post on Monday, July 29, that they would be closing.
It read: “Folks, we have been telling our anglers about the problems we faced with the bottom dam in particular.
“This is a problem created by Stormont, specifically the people in the Rivers Agency, when they introduced a Reservoirs Bill in 2014.
“They brought in legislation which they didn’t resource, despite written promises to do so.
“As a result, reports were required as to the condition of the dams, and since the dams are very old and haven’t enjoyed any major investment in a generation or two, they failed inspection.
“This wasn’t to say there was any danger of collapse, but the engineers doing these reports provided a long list of repairs.
“In response to complaints from Rivers Agency that we were not attending to their instructions, we reminded them that they had promised us grants to carry out any necessary repairs.
“Their counter to this was to prevent planning permission downstream, which created a lot of pressure locally to sort something out.
“This has gone on until a new engineer produced a report saying that the bottom dam has to be reduced by 11 metres.
“Our landlord, the council, told us they would take responsibility for sorting this out, but we were left watching the water drain away until we felt fishing is no longer a safe option.
“So we had no choice but to close.”
However, while they have closed, Glenowen Fisheries will look through the appropriate channels with Derry City and Strabane District Council to reopen in the future, with the hope that this is not final.
But at this stage, Glenowen Fisheries will be closed indefinitely.
The post added: “Our plan now is to wait and see what happens when we reach the level required. Then see what, if anything, we can do to restart the fishing.
“If we can, we will dig the place out to provide depth for the trout and, if possible, create a separate bait pond for worm fishing.
“This time last year we were working with the council on a £6.5 million application to the Levelling Up Funds to provide for a major investment and reboot of all amenities and facilities, including the fishery. Unfortunately, that was unsuccessful, and then the Westminster election intervened.
“It is our intention to work with the council and others to ensure that this investment happens sooner rather than later.”
Their post thanked everyone for their support and concluded that they wouldn’t be posting, responding to, or answering questions on Facebook for an unspecified period.
In response, a Department for Infrastructure spokesperson said: “As these reservoirs are not in the ownership of the Department, responsibility regarding their safety would reside with the reservoir owner/manager who have a common law responsibility to prevent damage to land and/or injury to persons from flooding arising from failure to control the reservoir or the part of the reservoir they manage.
“The directions from an inspecting engineer appointed by the reservoir manager is to ensure the safety of the reservoir.
“The Minister plans to bring forward legislation to further implement the Reservoirs Act in due course, which will include the power to provide financial assistance to reservoir owners / managers.
“Provision of financial assistance will be subject to affordability and budget availability going forward.”
A spokesperson for Derry City and Strabane District Council said: “We have been working with Creggan Country Park, the current reservoir manager responsible for the management and maintenance of the site, in relation to a recent Engineering Inspection Report that was received.
“Among the list of timebound safety measures identified in the Inspection Report was a recommendation to lower the water level of the lower reservoir to enable further structural assessment of the dam to be carried out.
“Other safety works identified as early priorities in the report include the relocation of security fencing to the spillway and the testing of the operational status of dewatering fittings in the valve tower.
“Council has met with the Creggan Country Park in relation to these matters and agreed to support them by funding and jointly implementing the safety recommendations.
“The health and safety of the public must always come first, and an agreed programme of health and safety and general maintenance works, including the lowering of water levels at the reservoir, is in progress, and these are anticipated to be completed in the coming weeks.
“Council remains committed toward new management arrangements for Creggan Country Park and to working with Creggan Country Park to progress the wider regeneration of the overall site.
“This work remains ongoing with regular updated reports provided at the Council’s Environment and Regeneration Committee.”
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