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THESE ARE JUST SOME OF OUR PRESS CUTTINGS |
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Common fishing |
WE MEET THE FISHING FRIENDLY MINISTER IN CHARGE OF BRITISH SPORT |
'MINISTER FOR YOUTH ANGLING' |
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| AN angling club which faced possible
eviction from its water, forced an amazing U-turn ...and won a
£10,000 grant in the process. Clapham Angling Preservation Society,
which enjoys free fishing on Eagle and Mount Ponds, was battling
mounting pressure from local residents and anti- anglers, who wanted
to see them banned from fishing on the Common. But staunch opponents
failed to count on the London society's tenacity and determination,
and a secret weapon Minister for Sport and Clapham MP, Kate Hoey!
With Tim Holdcroft, coordinator of CAPS, at the helm, an application
was made to Lambeth Parks Investment Fund for cash to improve their
ponds, and after negotiations with council staff Dave Paul and Jane
Warrener, the money was secured. Tim explained: "Kate provided no
end of moral support, and has always told us to stand up for what we
believe in. "We embraced her support and, with a clear vision of what we wanted, fought the good fight, won over the cynics, and it will benefit the community as a whole". "Miss Hoey's support for angling was brought to the fore in a recent Angling Times' interview, in which she was quoted as saying: "I would fight tooth and nail if anyone tried to ban it. "We can now raise the standard of the waters considerably, by fitting aeration equipment, and also improve the wildlife areas," said Tim. He added: "Out of more than 100 members, a third are juniors, and this project will stand all of them in good stead. It's been a real success story. ---------- ANGLERS NET LOTTO CASH 'Fishing is also about caring for the environment' By Oscar Mortali The Clapham Angling
Preservation Society has reeled in its biggest catch in years a £3,000-plus
lottery grant. Sports minister Kate Hoey was at Clapham Common's Mount
Pond to present the group with the much needed money which helped pay
for its annual open day. Also joining in the activities was kiddies'
favorite Postman Pat, who put in a guest appearance, alongside Lambeth
Mayor Clare Whelan. Funds from the Awards for All-Sport England grant
will now be used to buy junior fishing equipment to teach local
children the art of angling and fund a number of environmental
schemes. The cash will also help fund a Junior Presentation Evening in
November, which the Vauxhall MP has promised to attend. Tim Holdcroft,
coordinator and secretary of the Clapham Angling Society, said:
"Fishing is not just about going along to a pond with a rod, it
is also about the surrounding environment and looking after it."
We know it is only a small amount of money in terms of other lottery
awards but it is absolutely vital to us to carry on our work. Coaches
from the National Federation of Anglers were at the open day to assist
and advise the society's junior anglers in a competition.
Unfortunately there were no fish caught so coordinators instead judged
the contest on observations made while the match was in progress. Lee
Hart, 12, won top prize with Charlie Swallow, 14, and Lewis Spendler,
12, coming in second and third respectively. Free snacks and drinks
were given away to the public, courtesy of the society and there was
also a Fun Casting Competition with prizes and ---------- CAPS JUNIOR EVENING On 4th November 2000 Clapham
Angling Preservation Society held a very successful Millennium Junior
Presentation Evening. For the third year running Kate Hoey MP,
Minister for Sport, presented all of this year's trophies and prizes.
Ben Patrick, 12, won the Tom's Tea Cup Trophy sponsored by Tom's Tea
Wagon on Clapham Common, the Moody Shield sponsored by Swifty's Tackle
Shop and the Gerry's of Wimbledon Trophy. Karl Wyatt,12, won the
Ritchie Cup sponsored by Alan Ritchie. Guy Cubitt, 14, won the Kate
Hoey Trophy sponsored by Kate and Shakespeare Tackle Ltd. Guy also ---------- Streatham Guardian Plenty more fish in the pond 22nd July 2002 There are plenty more fish in Clapham's Eagle Pond, which reopened last week after months of regeneration work. The pond has been dredged and cleaned and a range of different fish introduced, creating a welcome oasis on the Common. The Clapham Angling Preservation Society staged a fishing competition to mark it's reopening, with more than 20 youngsters turning up to take part. The prizes were presented by Vauxhall MP Kate Hoey.Ms Hoey said: "The newly re-opened pond is a credit especially to the Clapham Angling Preservation Society who have put in so much work to give an opportunity for local children and adults alike to enjoy their fishing in an inner city setting. "The work was financed by the Environment Agencies Urban Fisheries development project and Lambeth Council. ---------- |
(Page 8 Angling Times Wednesday, November24,1999) By KEVIN GREEN KATE'S GOT A SOFT SPOT FOR ANGLING!
Campaign "The people who tried to ban fishing on Clapham Common were a small but vociferous group representing only themselves. Thanks to the response of the local anglers through the effect of their campaign was to bring out more support for angling". "This showed what could be achieved. Anglers need to be more upfront about how good their sport is." But it's not all good news. Despite being in her post for three months and being openly supportive to fishing, Miss Hoey admitted the sport's governing bodies had been disappointingly slow to contact her. She revealed that the only representative groups to formally request a meeting with her are the Specialist Anglers Conservation Group (SAGC) and the National Federation of Anglers. It's not a position she wants to see continue ; she also called on angling to unite to fight for greater rights. She continued: "I haven't spent a large amount of time talking to angling organizations but I intend to do so. Fishing is such a popular sport. The Sports Council should treat angling as a very important sport but it would help when dealing with them and The National Lottery if there was one group to represent all the angling organizations. "Angling needs to become more political and more vociferous, that's where organizations representing the arts score, they openly and effectively fight for what they want".
Time for change?
Support ---------- CAPS praised The Clapham Angling
Preservation Society in partnership with the Environment Agency and
the London Borough of Lambeth held a very successful re-opening of
Eagle Pond at Clapham Common on Saturday 29th June. It was held to
celebrate all the work that the EA, Lambeth and CAPS have ---------- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Angler' Mail 31.08.02 Clapham Common Ponds Clapham, South London CURRENT FORM: two free fishing ponds situated on the famous common. Clapham Angling Preservation Society and the Environment Agency have done wonders with Eagle Pond which has been regenerated into a fine mixed fishery after a two year closure. There are now tench, bream, perch, roach, rudd, gudgeon, chub and some nice carp, and is a great place for the pleasure angler. Mount Pond at the other end of the park has a lot of small fish including roach and carp with the odd fish to 20lb. Whip to-hand is best for small fish, feeder and waggler for the carp. Fish to the island for carp and don't go to light. No floating baits due to the prolific wildfowl. Mobile cafe and toilets close by. Junior matches held five times a year. BAITS: maggot, caster, sweet corn, luncheon meat, and boilies. TICKETS: free fishing. Nights permitted. EA rod license required. Tel: Gerry's of Wimbledon on 0208 542 7792 ----------
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MINISTER for Sport Kate Hoey is
one high profile politician who takes our sport seriously, and she
recently made an effort to be guest of honour at a top junior bash.
Clapham Angling Preservation Society's Millennium Junior Presentation
Evening was the event which also attracted several key fishing figures
and the South West London club's local mayor. On Clapham Ponds After a slow
start due to the discovery of some unexpected cabling the work on
Mount and Eagle Ponds has progressed rapidly. The project, which has
been developed within partnership between the Environment Agency,
Lambeth Borough Council and the Clapham Angling Preservation Society,
aims to improve the environment both for the fish and the wild life. ---------- Clapham Common Ponds to reopen to anglers 25 June 2002 Clapham Common ponds will be officially reopened for angling this Saturday (29 June) with a youth fishing competition and coaching from the National Federation of Anglers. The re-opening follows a two-year, £50,000 redevelopment project funded by the Environment Agency and the London Borough of Lambeth. The project is part of a national initiative by the Agency to improve urban fisheries and encourage more young people to take up angling. More than thirty local children are expected to take part in the fishing match at Eagle Pond, which kicks off at 8.30am. Kate Hoey, MP for Lambeth and the former Minister for Sport, will present prizes to the winners of the 5-10 year group and the 10-16 year group. The prize presentation will take place at 1.30pm. Winners will receive a trophy, a fishing tackle bag and an assortment of fishing tackle. Three professional coaches from the National Federation of Anglers will be on hand to teach the children core angling skills. Eagle Pond was closed to anglers throughout summer 2001, while the redevelopment work took place. The Agency invested £20,000, with matched funds from the Borough of Lambeth, to drain and de-silt Eagle Pond, stabilise eroded banks and create reed beds around the edges of the pond to provide a natural habitat for wildlife and a natural spawning ground for fish. Improvements at Mount Pond were concentrated on creating a more natural habitat. More than 1,000lbs of carp were removed from the pond before drainage and improvement works could take place - well in excess of the pond’s natural capacity. The ponds have been restocked with a mixed range of fish species including roach, tench, gudgeon, perch and carp. More than 1,000 new plants have been introduced at both sites. Six timber frame angling platforms have been built within reed beds to provide safe and controlled access to the ponds for anglers. The design of the platforms incorporates disabled access. Agency fisheries officer, Richard Tyner comments: “This small fishery has been transformed from a muddy carp pond into a clear water fishery, with diverse plants suitable for a range of fish species. The success of the project has been achieved by working in close partnership with Lambeth Borough Council, the Clapham Angling Society and the National Federation of Anglers. The pond is now a major asset to South London, especially for junior anglers.” All media enquiries: 0118 953 5535Outside office hours 0118 953 5581Please ask for the duty press officer. All Environment Agency news releases, both national and regional, can be found on its web site: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/---------- Specialist Anglers Association Clapham Angling Preservation Society Staunch supporters of the SAA and long-time members of SACG/SAA, the Clapham Angling Preservation Society recently had cause for major celebration. One of the South London ponds where the society operates has recently undergone major restoration work, with major de-silting being carried out. While only small, the pond is fished by many people In the area and is one of two on Clapham Common offering the last "free" fishing in the South London area, Following the work in June an opening "match" was organised where youngsters from all over the area were given the opportunity to try fishing, using either their own tackle or tackle provided by the society. Supervision was provided by NFA coaches from within the CAPS ranks, with refreshments and other help provided by adult members and willing parents. The restoration work was carried out by the Environment Agency, who work very closely with CAPS. A tremendous relationship has been developed with the agency over the past few years; they give advice and assist with what can only be described as one of the most significant public fisheries around. CAPS was formed specifically to fight an angling ban on the common some years ago. SACG assisted in a head to head battle with anti-angling groups, who had managed to convince the local Lambeth Council that angling rights should be removed. However, every cloud has a silver lining, because during the campaign a number of strong friendships were formed, among them was a close dialogue with Kate Hoey M.P. (Lambeth). Kate is a very strong angling supporter (when Sports Minister, it was at her insistence that the National Angling Alliance was set up) and was guest of honour at the opening. Kate made an effort to meet and chat with a lot of the kids, but sadly, due to bright light conditions and a bloom of blanket weed algae, the fish didn't put In an appearance. Eventually, the contest winners were decided by a casting contest and a vote by the coaches, who decided who had "tried hardest". In my opinion, there was very little to choose between the kids as far as effort goes. All paid attention to what they were doing, no matter what their level of experience. Still, a decision had to be made, and medals and prizes (donated by Gold Label, Solar, Fox and Shakespeare amongst others) were awarded to the lucky winners, the presentations being carried out by the guest of honour. One thing is for certain, the Clapham Angling Preservation Society Is doing more "pro-active" work both to bring youngsters into angling, and to preserve angling rights for existing anglers, than an awful lot of other angling organisations! If you want to know more about CAPS, or the work carried out on the common, go to http://www.claphamangling.co.uk/ or follow the link from the SAA contacts list on our website. Dunk Fairley |
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