A Few Words on UK Wildlife Depletion.

[FishingMagic]

After fishing all night on one of my club gravel-pits in Essex, the dawn chorus back then was indescribably beautiful and very loud. Tens…hundreds of thousands of birds of different species heralded another day in a joyous cacophony of whistles and songs.

There were half a dozen big, gin-clear pits, each teeming with fish and other wildlife now classified as rare – water voles were two-a-penny – and these waters could have raised one of England’s grottiest corners to become a premier site of scientific interest with bird-watching and all manner of water-sports. But this was Essex – close to London and all too convenient for the capital’s rubbish and industrial waste.

Corruption was rife with every rule in the book being broken in order to cheaply dispose of horrific chemical cocktails by the millions of gallons. With the blessing of Thurrock Council, just about every pit and lake in the area was back-filled by a number of disposal companies who became very, very wealthy on their illegal practices. The police were not interested. Neither was the local press despite my protestations and letters to them. During the hours of darkness, convoys of up to 15 lorries at a time would race onto the site nose-to-tail in order to dump as much prohibited material as possible before sun-up…then it would return to normal, as if the night-time frenzy had never happened.

At times, the ground would erupt in a deafening explosion and always there was a sickly fug hanging over the site and over the adjacent housing estate. Cyanide could be found, granulated, in drums; and mountains of literally millions of barbiturate phials dumped just yards from the school playing-field.

I was just a teenager, but I was fully aware even then that these foul deeds were just the tip of the iceberg which would blot the country’s landscape beyond recovery. Today, nearly 50 years on, most of these once-idyllic areas lie barren and useless, their suitability for housing or other development deemed ‘unsafe’: the ground is toxic.

To this day, the memories are bitter and the title ‘Thurrock Council’ leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Essex had nothing less than a natural paradise of potentially international importance – but the *******s filled the lot with rubbish and this same crime would have been played-out, I’m sure, all around the country, ousting untold numbers of birds and mammals and insects from their homes.

My lingering resentment is pointless; it’s history and nothing will bring back those beautiful, bountiful areas in which I spent the entirety of my teenage years, but maybe we can learn from the ‘mistakes’ and the greed of the past by adopting a proper ‘reclamation’ regime which sees councils and aggregate companies legally obliged to develop or merely conserve the oases they create.

In the meantime, I strongly suggest that angling clubs and allied organizations refuse to allow the annihilation of their precious pits and quarries – even if it means level-headed wellie-wearers blocking the bulldozers’ paths and creating merry-hell. Whether or not you regard Extinction Rebellion as a bunch of left-wing pawns or as well-meaning, conscientious individuals, you must admire their willingness to stand-up (or sit down) for what they believe in and I think we as anglers should be equally active in our opposition to corporate destruction.

Cliff Hatton


Source Article...

 

[Another Dave]

Infuriating and heartbreaking Cliff.

 

[no-one in particular]

The sentiments of many of us of a certain age I am sure. I sort of saw this coming in the 70's and 80,s where money became God and all else took a back seat. The word for more and more profit took over, hence farms ripped up everything for more land, used every more chemicals for bigger crops/more profit, companies looked for cheaper and cheaper production costs hence the greater use of plastics and yes, cheaper ways to dump all the waste, I could go on.
However, I don’t despair, we are recognizing the mistakes and starting to put them right, farmers are coming back to custodians of the land, chemicals are being seriously monitored more and more, companies are under greater pressure to change their game. Many conservation organizations are getting more support. And I agree with Cliff those that we laughed at who stood/sat down and fought, they made people notice and got on the news and the problems got highlighted. If no one did that the companies and farmers etc would just carry on without regard to life in general.
Governments are the most at fault, to slow, too frightened to take action in case they upset someone, the companies who provide them with taxes, too self absorbed in their own ambitions and fight for power, how I hate that word.
And we mustn’t ignore the successes, often overlooked in our doom and gloom mentality, many species are adapting and coming back, new ones are appearing that were once rare, nature has a way of coping with what we throw at it.
I always found it fascinating in reading accounts of WW1 how, birds and flowers just carried on among the carnage and still thrived, poppies for example found a niche to flourish.

 

[john step]

I used to cycle to those pits as a youngster with my 7foot glass spinning rod strapped to the crossbar. Oh if only I knew how to fish them then!

 

[steve2]

I take it this is the Mollands Lane area you are talking about. Caught many fish from there.

 

[Cliff Hatton]

I take it this is the Mollands Lane area you are talking about. Caught many fish from there.

Steve: I believe Mollands Lane and Buckles Lane pits are still there, as are the two Grangewaters pits further back. The biggest of these two was an undiscovered Eldorado for many years; only a few anglers - like Martin Gay - bothering to explore its potential. I discovered its secrets in 1979 when I experimented one evening after the powerboats had gone home. I had two rudd over 2lbs before it got dark and couldn't wait to get back. At 4.30 next morning I was there fishing flake on a light leger and I caught more big rudd and - wait for it...a 3lb roach. The rest of the season provided wonderful, unprecedented sport for me with big golden rudd to 2.12 coming to my net.

The following season I had one good session - then it all stopped. Not a bite. The water went dead leaving me both worried and confused. A few years later, a work colleague who belonged to the local diving club told me how he used to dive Grangewaters 'B' and how he'd been shocked to find the lake-bed littered with thousands of big silver fish with red fins... Turns out the nearby dump leeched its foul contents into the lake and killed everything.

The pits of which I write (above) were the old Ham River Grit Co's pits adjacent to the Belhus estate...fabulous, gin-clear waters brimming with exotically-coloured rudd, huge pike, tench, crucians, roach, perch, carp...the lot. They attracted all manner of wildlife and hundreds of hard-working class men and their boys, glad to be away from their places of work. Very little stocking was ever done; it was all 'natural'. Moor Hall club members loved their waters and devoted countless hours to their upkeep and improvement, then the dumpers moved in. In the space of a few years, hundreds and hundreds of acres were back-filled with some of the foulest materials you couldn't imagine. Then Dennis's Lane went...Gerpins Lane...North Road pits...the lot. Virtually every oasis of excellence was systematically filled-in, levelled and forgotten. You'd never know today that at one time, 'Sarf Ockindon', Essix, could have been a site of international importance at almost zero cost. Oh...the BLINDNESS of those *******s.

 

[john step]

One day when I had cycled there with a mate we found a part where there was a bulldozer filling an arm in with what in retrospect was chemical waste in drums. There were dying fish the like I had never caught as a kid.
The ones still swimming in somewhat distress we transferred in our landing nets to another pool.

I cannot recall if I knew the name of the water. We just turned up and fished. I seem to recall it was on the right side of the road we cycled from Romford to Ockendon. Steve mentions Mollands and rings a bell.
Would have been about 1959 or 1960?

 

[no-one in particular]

I don't know any of this but could it be rejuvenated with money from the EU or there are several other sources. I am just thinking of what has been done with some coal slag heaps for example and some old industrial waste lands. On the theme of my previous post, changes in attitudes and the desire to get some of these places back is becoming more and more popular now. Maybe these pits are a candidate but past that I wouldn't know; just a thought.

 

[steve2]

I often walk round what is now Belhus Woods country park there are still a few lakes there two of which can be fished the others are now called conservation lakes. Any other waters are now carp syndicates.
Like you say many of the waters in this area that I fished have now been back filled. I use to fish the lakes at Stubbers till they were taken over by the Outdoor Activity Centre. Interesting how outdoor activities don’t include angling.
With the amount of building work planned and with the new M25 link motorway through the area more back filling is likely to take place.

 

[Cliff Hatton]

I don't know any of this but could it be rejuvenated with money from the EU or there are several other sources. I am just thinking of what has been done with some coal slag heaps for example and some old industrial waste lands. On the theme of my previous post, changes in attitudes and the desire to get some of these places back is becoming more and more popular now. Maybe these pits are a candidate but past that I wouldn't know; just a thought.

Nice thought but no chance, Mark. Long gone...nothing to salvage; just deserts of memories.

 

[no-one in particular]

Nice thought but no chance, Mark. Long gone...nothing to salvage; just deserts of memories.

That's a shame Cliff, I guess too far gone and past restoration.
I have seen it happen a long time ago. 4 blokes took over a bit of old slag heap from the Kent Pits, they paid a minimal amount of money and turned it into a lake duck shoot. But they put as much effort in it for conservation, judicial planting and what attracts ducks attracted a lot of other wildlife. There argument was they only took a minimal amount of ducks in the season and that was a small payoff for what they had done and it was all thier own money, just had the idea and went for it.
Shame we cannot get the same sort of consideration for angling. A venue is created for angling which benefits all the other wildlife just does not take hold so much. I think this is overlooked in the case of commercials sometimes though. I know a few that have become wildlife havens. One was so good for birdwatchers the owners charged the bird watchers .50p to have a look round. The thing was the formation of 8 lakes in this case and all the careful planning of planting trees and bushes for anglers was great for birds as well. Fabulous it was too, I enjoyed fishing there immensley for both the fish and the wildlife.

 

[eddiebenham]

The pits of which I write (above) were the old Ham River Grit Co's pits adjacent to the Belhus estate..

I fished these pits as a 10 year old in 1952 whilst they were still extracting gravel and my mates and I caught loads of gudgeon using a garden cane for a rod with heavy green twine (which absorbed water and sank) and a small hook tied to what was then called 'cat gut'. For a while the waters were day tickets and I used to run errands for the Bailiff and he let me fish for nothing.
Around 1962 the pits which had now grown much larger, were taken over by Moor Hall & Belhus A.S. so I now had to join the Club to continue fishing there.
Gravel extraction continued to take place and eventually the waters now stretched from Dennis Road, across to Arisdale Avenue then Erriff Drive behind Lennards School (now The Ockendon Academy) then across to what is now the M25.
Anyone who knows the area will know that is a massive area of lakes which all contained some lovely fish.
Wandering around these lakes with a single rod wobbling a sprat became one of my most pleasurable pastimes.
Then the fly tipping began and regretfully we could do nothing about it. These beautiful lakes were filled in with all sorts of toxic waste and there were frequent columns of thick,black, choking smoke from burning tyres.
But all is not lost.
Despite contamination from the tipped areas, the Main Pool and The Slurry, which are virtually in the middle, have survived.
At the present time Rural Arisings have been appointed to turn the area into Belhus Country Park. They are currently putting down loads of rubble to 'cap' the polluted soil and also creating shallow ponds for newts and such like. This is I believe a 10 year project.
The good news is that my club, Moor Hall & Belhus A.S. still control the fishing rights and the Main Pool contains lots of Carp up to just over 30 lb and some decent Tench. There is plenty of wildlife, Dabchicks, Grebes, Kingfishers, Herons, voles, rabbits and such like. Plus 'the black death' - Cormorants along with the usual Coots, Moorhens and Ducks.
On my first visit (to The Main Pool) in June this year fishing from 8.00 am until 5.00 pm (I don't night fish) I caught 11 Tench all over 5lb and up to 7lb 7oz. I also had 3 Common Carp, a 14 lb + and 2 over 16lb. Great fun on my Tench gear and they all took off like trains and fought every inch of the way to my landing net.
My best Tench from there was last year and it weighed 8lb 12oz.
But like Cliff I remember what was and what could now have been. It should never have been allowed to happen but it did and was repeated no doubt in many other areas.
Such a shame - but at least we have the memories to cherish.

 

[steve2]

Just come across this.
"Little Belhus, in the south west of Essex, is an ambitious project to turn 86 hectares of former landfill into a country park. The site has historically been used for the extraction of gravel and sand dating back to the 1940’s and before then was farmland. After the mineral deposits were extracted the pits were filled with household waste and commercial/industrial waste.

This process of infilling was completed by the mid 1970’s and as the standards and enforcement procedures at the time were limited no environmental protection occurred. Restoration purely involved a thin cover of soil and no planting was carried out.

The site is now despoiled contaminated land with associated health and safety implications.

In addition to the surface hazards the biodegradation of waste material leads to the production of leachate leading to potential contamination of water resources both on site and in the water table. This is not helped by the permeable nature of the current surface covering (where present). Biodegradation of waste material also results in unmitigated risks from landfill gas."

What else is buried out there.

 

[S-Kippy]

What else is buried out there.

Unfortuntely its unlikely to be the greedy swine who allowed this. There are similar stories round here....not on the same scale but the pits on which I served my apprenticeship are under tarmac now.

The pit me and the BF " discovered" this year is full of asbestos as well as bloody great carp and tench. Just dumped in the lake ffs....certain swims are unfishable because of it and I dont know anyone who fishes it that hasn't lost a lump through being cut off on the asbestos. It can't be doing anything any good but its impossible to remove now.

 

[Cliff Hatton]

Just come across this.
"Little Belhus, in the south west of Essex, is an ambitious project to turn 86 hectares of former landfill into a country park. The site has historically been used for the extraction of gravel and sand dating back to the 1940’s and before then was farmland. After the mineral deposits were extracted the pits were filled with household waste and commercial/industrial waste.

This process of infilling was completed by the mid 1970’s and as the standards and enforcement procedures at the time were limited no environmental protection occurred. Restoration purely involved a thin cover of soil and no planting was carried out.

The site is now despoiled contaminated land with associated health and safety implications.

In addition to the surface hazards the biodegradation of waste material leads to the production of leachate leading to potential contamination of water resources both on site and in the water table. This is not helped by the permeable nature of the current surface covering (where present). Biodegradation of waste material also results in unmitigated risks from landfill gas."

What else is buried out there.

Thanks for that, Steve.
A couple of years ago I managed to grab the initial attention of a young female reporter from the Thurrock Gazette but, eventually and, perhaps, inevitably, she lost interest! Many - probably most - of the protagonists are long gone but maybe there are still individuals living-out their lives in ill-gotten luxury. For sure, Thurrock Council wouldn't want any belated publicity about this scandal - and neither would the police.

 

[sam vimes]

I understand the sentiment, but I'm not entirely convinced that anglers are especially open minded when it comes to angling venues. I'm not convinced that many really care that much about the environment other than as an afterthought. I'm not suggesting that anglers don't care about the environment, just that their concern can be less than objective when it comes to an angling venue.

Not surprisingly, many anglers will lament the loss of a load of gravel pits, and the environment the area surrounding them became. No mention of the destruction of the previous environment that was lost to create them in the first place.

There's a similar weird contradiction amongst anglers when it comes to river alterations. If anyone suggests any kind of installation that alters the flow (direction, depth, rate) of a river, most anglers will be up in arms. However, if anyone suggests removing an existing weir, most anglers will be up in arms. As the Yanks might say, "go figure!".

I know that some anglers do care for the environment, but, when it comes to fisheries, they are primarily interested in fish welfare for their own enjoyment. If that happens to benefit the wider environment, all to the good. However, we need to be careful not to dress up our rather specific interest, in fish and fishing, into something that it's not. I know I've spent hours planting Norfolk Reed, reedmace, flag iris and willow. I know it's had a wider benefit for multiple bird species. However, I did none of it for any other benefit than the fish and my fishing.

Otters are the most blatant example of some angler's twisted logic. They'll blather on about environmental protection when it comes to any form of habitat destruction, or pollution, that will affect fish. At the same time many of the same people will be talking about "controlling" otters.

 

[Cliff Hatton]

Mercifully, the pit from which this 14lber came has been spared despite its proximity to what was Europe's largest dump at Mucking in Essex. It's now under the control of Essex Wildlife Trust and is, I believe, being developed - visitor centre etc. Before EWT's involvement, the water was largely stripped of its pike by Eastern Europeans who'd take them away by the sack-load. I'm unaware if EWT will / does allow fishing.

For some reason I can't upload said pic...just imagine yours truly with a 14lber! Meanwhile, here's me with a nice bag of crucians, circa 1965.

 

[steve2]

I understand the sentiment, but I'm not entirely convinced that anglers are especially open minded when it comes to angling venues. I'm not convinced that many really care that much about the environment other than as an afterthought. I'm not suggesting that anglers don't care about the environment, just that their concern can be less than objective when it comes to an angling venue.

Not surprisingly, many anglers will lament the loss of a load of gravel pits, and the environment the area surrounding them became. No mention of the destruction of the previous environment that was lost to create them in the first place.

There's a similar weird contradiction amongst anglers when it comes to river alterations. If anyone suggests any kind of installation that alters the flow (direction, depth, rate) of a river, most anglers will be up in arms. However, if anyone suggests removing an existing weir, most anglers will be up in arms. As the Yanks might say, "go figure!".

I know that some anglers do care for the environment, but, when it comes to fisheries, they are primarily interested in fish welfare for their own enjoyment. If that happens to benefit the wider environment, all to the good. However, we need to be careful not to dress up our rather specific interest, in fish and fishing, into something that it's not. I know I've spent hours planting Norfolk Reed, reedmace, flag iris and willow. I know it's had a wider benefit for multiple bird species. However, I did none of it for any other benefit than the fish and my fishing.

Otters are the most blatant example of some angler's twisted logic. They'll blather on about environmental protection when it comes to any form of habitat destruction, or pollution, that will affect fish. At the same time many of the same people will be talking about "controlling" otters.

I agree, angling as also helped destroy some local environments. All the ponds,lakes,rivers we fish have all changed or we have dug holes in the ground to create places for us to fish. Few rivers,lakes etc. are now natural along with the fish we fish for we made them suitable for our pastime. We have added alien species to waters where they shouldn't be just for our benefit without a thought as to effect on other species.