This is a general update regarding bank clearing and general beat maintenance, prompted by the following comment on the LAA blog…
“What is going on with LAA,i have never seen the beats in such an overgrown state,Last year ,although fishing was restricted,Gerald Spiers had the Bamham beat access points all strimmed out enableing easy access,at the moment its like a jungle .maybe a special agm should be called to sort out what the hell is happening,”
In response to the above LAA committee issues this open letter:
LAA committee organises a rolling programme of maintenance for the 13 miles of the Association’s beats. This is mostly undertaken in late winter and early spring during low river flows if possible, by volunteer work parties. Unfortunately due to Covid 19 restrictions this was not possible during 2020 or this year with social distancing requirements making work parties impossible to operate safely.
In the case of our Bamham beat Gerald Spiers very kindly offered to volunteer on his own to strim out angling access points last year. Gerald is trained and certificated to use machinery such as chainsaws and brush cutters. This is a requirement under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations. As an organisation LAA is required by law to follow these regulations to keep volunteers safe when maintaining the beats.
Unfortunately this year (2021) Gerald is unable to volunteer and none of our other volunteers are certified. The consequence is that individual members are now undertaking beat maintenance using hand tools only, which is very slow and requires a level of physical fitness. Your Chairman has recently started maintenance on the Polson and Bamham beats in question and is already quite knackered!! Committee has considered investing club resources into training and certification of volunteers but this can lead to pressure and over reliance on individuals. Another factor is the training and certification is time consuming for the individual and costs hundreds of pounds.
LAA does engage professional, insured contractors for beat maintenance such as the recent scrub clearance at our Wooda beat (see photos below) but this can be expensive (LAA cannot reclaim VAT) which uses up valuable club financial reserves and requires specific seasonal timing and high level of supervision from LAA Committee officers. This is to ensure there is minimal environmental impact and that the requirements of Environment Agency rules and legislation such as the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 are complied with.
An example of this recently was planned beat maintenance works that had to be postponed when the Chairman undertook pre – works disturbance surveys to find bankside nesting mallards and canada geese in the areas of intended works.
Photos right show a clutch of mallard eggs next to a ladder on the Tamar (last week) and canada goose nest on the Inny (mid May) close to a stile.
The effects of Coronavirus have delayed LAA’s beat maintenance programme which has been exacerbated by local and temporal circumstances. LAA Committee recognise this and meet regularly, remotely online by Zoom facility to discuss and resolve these issues. LAA is currently unable to hold any general open meetings due to Covid 19 restrictions.
LAA is a mutual organisation providing affordable angling to members, it has operated successfully for over fifty years by members making constructive and positive contribution which benefits one and all. The Committee is made up of volunteer members who give their time freely to run the Association and to respond to enquiries such as this.
Committee calls on any fit and willing members to register to help by emailing us at admin@launcestonanglers.org.uk to join other club volunteers when the next work parties are organised, subject to Covid 19 restrictions and local conditions. Meanwhile many of our members carry a small folding hand saw or secateurs with them when they visit the beats so they may “fish and snip” as they go. We commend this to all members and request your patience and understanding while we all navigate our way through this pandemic.
On behalf of LAA Committee
Martin Harmer
Chairman
