I trust you managed to get some end of season action in, despite the weather.
BASG on the National Stage
Our move to focus on the strategic challenges facing the Broads, took a step forward in recent weeks. The follow up actions with the Environment Agency has led to a wide reaching agreement with the EA on reviewing the way all environmental issues are managed and by whom. This has resulted in a workshop being planned for early May with over 30 key stakeholder. It will encompass not only fisheries, but avian influenza management, flooding, predation, enforcement. I presented the concept at the recent national freshwater fisheries conference hosted jointly by the IFM and EA and was well received.
The other strategic challenge being salinity and again our efforts in highlighting the plight facing the Broads freshwater ecology was presented at the same conference in Leeds by Duncan. One of the key outcomes recently being that Natural England have realised the threat and have placed salinity as a key threat to its portfolio of protected habitats in the Broads. This alone is a significant step forward.
New Broads Angling Strategy starts its development
In terms of our structure, we had our first general meeting of members last week and agreed a new set of key objectives of the next Broads Angling Strategy. These 18 items will be worked up in the coming weeks, but all remain very strategic in nature and do not relate to any specific delivery. But the core theme was as defined above, holding the agencies to account and salinity adaptation. We have lost members recently and therefore we are looking for new people with new ideas to join us and help develop this strategy and help hold the agencies to account.
From no houses toooo many Houses
On the Wensum the newsletter published recently went down well and has surprised many the reach and scale of the partnership and it’s undertakings. We now seem to be faced from a position of zero development and hosing growth, to Breckland Council wanting to endorse a 5000 home new town on the banks of the Wensum. Where is the infrastructure at all levels to support this scale of development I ask. Our under investment in infrastructure makes this all seem near impossible.
BA facing questions
Back on the Broads, I understand finally some deep dive into the structural governance of the Broads Authority has been instigated with the under secretary of state. Pity this didn’t happen following my own exit report on the Authority after 8 years. I never even got a response, says a lot.
Regards
Kelvin
Chair BASG
