A PLAN to sell fishing rights at a popular beauty spot “in perpetuity” offers no protection for public open space, it has been alleged.
Councillors have come in for criticism over a legal document drawn up offering Warrington Anglers Association fishing rights at Ackers Pit, Stockton Heath for £30,000.
Residents attended a meeting of Stockton Heath Parish Council to raise concerns about the agreement.
One resident, Julie Kueres, said she had studied the previous lease granted to the anglers association and also a new Deed of Grant which offered a right in perpetuity.
She said: “The new deed offers no protection of public open space,” she told councillors. “I suggest you meet the anglers and have it re-written to something more acceptable.
“There should also be a public consultation on the future of the site.”
Ms Kueres said even if the anglers said they had no intention of preventing public access this should still be written into the deed. If not, they could actually sell on the rights and the public could be robbed of open space.
Another resident, Michael Foxall said the public should have been consulted before any agreement with the anglers was signed and the fishing rights should have been put out to tender to ensure the best price was obtained.
An application has been made to environmental charity WREN for a £24,000 grant towards the cost of completing landscaping and other works at Ackers Pits.
The council was told this should be considered by June 24.
6 Comments
Hang on. Ackers pit as far as I’m concerned has always been part and parcel of Warrington and to deny the facility to local anglers because some other town offers for a few coppers more is truly a mercenary way of thinking.
Think it’s more to do with the long term Bill.
Public open space definately needs some form of protection as can be seen by another news article on today’s front page news.
Like you say Warrington Anglers have held the fishing rights on Ackers on a renewable lease for a very long time which is great. Problem with the new ‘in perpetuity’ WA rights (from what I understand) is that the old clause in the lease to safeguard the rights of the public to full access is NOT included in the new one.
Why’s that and if it’s always been included why has it now been excluded? Typo error maybe but then again given the complexity and legal jargon used in such ‘Deeds of Grant’ its hard to see how it could have simply been overlooked.
I think £30,000 is a rather minimal amount to pay for the fishing rights ‘forever’ though 🙂
I wasn’t commenting on access rights just the fact that someone’s prepaired to deny Warrington people the right to fish there (forever) if some other town stumps up a bit more dosh. That’s just not right!
In any case, not that long ago the talk and roumers was about plans to fill the whole thing in and build more flats so Warrington Anglers (minimal) £30k may still end up as an overpayment.
Bill 🙂
Think you’ve got you facts more than a little wrong there Bill. Where has it ever been reported that ‘someone’ is trying to deny Warrington people the right to fish ! Load of codswallop !
Worth remembering that Warrington Anglers are a private organisation and licenced operator though, and I’m sure you already know that 🙂
So…. all that needs to be done is to add the old ‘rights to public access’ and ‘if you [Warr Anglers] ever transfer the “forever” lease the same rules apply to the new lot’ clause into the new deed of grant and the jobs a good ‘un 🙂
Easy peasy and everyone will be happy and the future of Ackers and its public open space status is safe eh 🙂
Dismayed
So you think my comments are factually wrong and a load of codswallop eh?
I’m not a fisherman these days but as a child I used to enjoy going to Acker’s pit for a days fishing. But if the rights to fish there were transferred to somewhere like Wigan anglers as Mr Foxall suggests, then effectively local people are denied the right to fish in their own back yard and that can’t be right.
That’s all I’m saying.
Bill, until 2 years ago many members of my family (including myself) held Warrington Anglers fishing licences…. (spanning 3 generations and over something like a 40 year spell) I got bored and thought it was cruel… and I never caught anything anyway. Some still hold their WA licences whilst others prefer to use the private fishing lakes nearby to be sure of a decent catch…
Anyway I digress 🙂
I am certainly not suggesting the sale of the fishing rights to Wigan or anywhere else for that matter although a I don agree with Mr Foxall as perhaps a bit of healthy tendering may have brought in a better ‘price’ giving more money for the future.
My point was that with the lack of protection for public access / open space / green space (call it what you like) then effectively local people ‘could’ one day be denied the right to enjoy Ackers……. and that can’t be right.
For example if one day WA decided to turn Ackers into a private specimin carp pond then public access would not be allowed. A bit far fetched I know but what if WA ever decided to sell on the ‘sole and exclusive (in perpetuity) fishing rights’ (as they will be entitled to) the people who took it over would not have to comply with any public access rights as it has now been omitted.
That’s all I’m saying too !