6 fish from Bigswier in the last couple of days 8/10lb mark.
10lb fish from the Rectory this morning apparently, on a Bann Special?

Thought you might like to see the below letter exchange with EA, especially the sentence highlighted in red. Do they seriously live in the real world I wonder. What improvements on the river is he talking about do you think. Does anyone know??  Perhaps he means improvements for canoeists -I reckon that must be it.!!!    Heard today about five canoes pulling up, occupants decamped and promptly held a prayer session on the bank. Muslims presumably.   Bit like those who take to the bushes -  when you have to go well you have to go.

Dear Mr Franks,

Thank you for your email. I treated your previous email as a formal complaint and as such the response is overseen and signed by the relevant Area Manager. However Dafydd Evans was on leave at the time, Ian Jones (Environment Manager for Gloucestershire) was deputising for him, hence why the reply came from him. I was of course involved in drafting the response you received.

With regard to an agreement on the Glasbury to Hay section and the whether or not there is or isn’t a right of navigation on this stretch,  I’m afraid I have nothing to add to what was included in our last letter to you.

We undertook monitoring this year during peak times in the school holidays, but you are correct we have not done any this year on a weekend.

We have received very positive comments on the improvements on the river in the last few years from many different constituencies, however we are not at all complacent and we will continue to seek further improvements for all, as outlined in our last letter to you.

I am always happy to discuss these issues, my contact details are below. We have also provided you with information to escalate your concerns should you wish.

Regards, Dane

Dane Broomfield

Land and Water Team Leader (English Wye and Lower Teme)

mobile number - 07767 480589

email - dane.broomfield@environment-agency.gov.uk

From: geoff franks [mailto:uskside1@tiscali.co.uk]
Sent: 15 September 2015 19:19
To: Broomfield, Dane
Subject: FW: W-022 - Wye navigation advisory committee

Dear Mr Broomfield,

I write in reference to the attached reply to my letter , penned not by the person I sent it to but by Rachel Hamer on behalf of someone else, ie one Ian Jones, Environment Officer whatever that means.

Most of the letter was purely padding consisting of most of what I I already know.   However I say again, as your surely know, there is NO agreement between riparian owners and WUF on the section from Glasbury to Hay.

Approaches to WUF by one owner in particular has had no result. You know this full well so why persist on indicating they have and flagging up that there is an agreement.

I am not sure just what your ‘monitoring’ consisted of, I doubt it was at weekend either, and it suggested/implied that my version was perhaps incorrect.  It was not.

In any event regardless of the numbers involved no one has secured permission from the riparian owners to use this section and as such neither you or WUF should indicate that there is.

I am not going over old ground regarding the antics that take place on the river and your so called concerns for the environment are at the best shall we say selective.

The situation throughout the whole river is abysmal and you are failing to address it, as indeed are WUF.   You cannot surely continue to sit back and do nothing though no doubt if you were prepared to take up your byelaw making powers you say you have for the upper river we would get yet more canoeists.

It seems now the people you wish to answer your emails are unable to do so and we you get some ‘desk jockey’ to do it for you who knows nothing about the location being referred to.

As ever it seems a waste of time talking to anyone in the EA whose only objective is their own jobs.

Regards

Geoff Franks.