Angling trust fish legal put subs up

[stikflote]

re e mail to Atr

Dear Mr. Haynes,

I am afraid that we don’t offer any concessionary rates for membership, other than for juniors and young adults. There is a huge variation in disposable income amongst adult anglers of all ages across the country and we feel that £25 is the minimum subscription which will allow us to make a real difference and pay for the cost of administering memberships. Many wealthier members make an additional donation. The minimum subscription, which is less than £2.10 a month, contributes to the work of two organisations, Angling Trust and Fish Legal. Angling Trust now covers sea, coarse and game angling as well. £25 is extremely good value compared with other similar organisations. BASC, the equivalent organisation for shooters, charges £66 a year, the RSPB £36 and Salmon and Trout Association £40.

Also, we do offer the opportunity for those who want to reduce the cost of membership to recoup some or all of their membership subscription via our Fish For Free programme. By shopping at over 200 (mainly online) retailers, members can claim about 4p in points for every £1 they spend. These points can then be used to buy fishing tackle, future Angling Trust membership or even the EA rod licence. Angling Trust members can also get up to 20% off from purchases from Angling Direct - Fishing Tackle | Fishing Rods | Fishing Reels | Fishing Equipment – in store or online.
In addition, we offer free civil liability insurance and our membership magazines to all members and we will be introducing new benefits over the coming year.

I am sorry not to be able to offer a reduced rate, but hope that you will be able to support us and take advantage of our membership benefits.

Kind regards

 

[richiekelly]

Dear Mr. Haynes,

I am afraid that we don’t offer any concessionary rates for membership, other than for juniors and young adults. There is a huge variation in disposable income amongst adult anglers of all ages across the country and we feel that £25 is the minimum subscription which will allow us to make a real difference and pay for the cost of administering memberships. Many wealthier members make an additional donation. The minimum subscription, which is less than £2.10 a month, contributes to the work of two organisations, Angling Trust and Fish Legal. Angling Trust now covers sea, coarse and game angling as well. £25 is extremely good value compared with other similar organisations. BASC, the equivalent organisation for shooters, charges £66 a year, the RSPB £36 and Salmon and Trout Association £40.

Also, we do offer the opportunity for those who want to reduce the cost of membership to recoup some or all of their membership subscription via our Fish For Free programme. By shopping at over 200 (mainly online) retailers, members can claim about 4p in points for every £1 they spend. These points can then be used to buy fishing tackle, future Angling Trust membership or even the EA rod licence. Angling Trust members can also get up to 20% off from purchases from Angling Direct - Fishing Tackle | Fishing Rods | Fishing Reels | Fishing Equipment – in store or online.
In addition, we offer free civil liability insurance and our membership magazines to all members and we will be introducing new benefits over the coming year.

I am sorry not to be able to offer a reduced rate, but hope that you will be able to support us and take advantage of our membership benefits.

Kind regards

so if someone is say a pensioner/disabled/unemployed and feel that £25 is to much for them the ATs would sooner them not be a member and have say £10 from these people/me i cannot for the life of me understand that sort of attitude,do they not live in the real world where £25 means a lot to some?,its just another example of them being out of touch,even the EA gives connsesions to disabled anglers, i wont say i will never join again but there will have to be a big change of attitude from the people running the ATs before i even think about it. unbelivable!

 

[Bluenose]

Thanks Steve.

Good luck with the venture mate.

 

[david i]

Don’t be quite so quick shoot them down - remember it costs a certain amount to fund a membership (I should know I'm in the membership business) and there has to be a limit of how low you can go!

Same with any other product or service; bread, magazine subs, petrol, fishing bait, beans, marsbars...

However, the subs are set by the board, so if members feel strongly enough then they should ask the board to review a lower rate for OAP's etc.

Personally I am in favour of a lower rate for OAP's for example, although some OAP's I know get more in pension that I ever will!

David

 

[david harvey1]

I have resisted replying on this thread despite writing 4 posts, then deleting them.

To clarify one point, the Thames Anglers Conservancy are a Consultative member of the Angling Trust, so not just a member. I filled out the form and sent the cheque, lol. As mentioned earlier we represent the free fishing areas of the Thames from Staines to the Angling Trust Thames Regional Forum. We are working closely with them on Thames Hydropower.

Yes we fully support the AT as the single voice for all angling. They do get some bad press but at least it is being talked about. No one is trying to get it wrong, it is usanglers that they represent.

As the TAC we a fully independent group, a group who fit well in the ideals of the big society, this before the Tories came to power. So a group not complaining to any authority about this or that or other, we have taken direct action ourselves on litter, loss of fishing rights, and much more. Guess what, we are volunteers, something our sport need to encourage further and hats off to the AT for the recent request for help.

In terms of people we work with, probably the Environment Agency are the most regular, the people on the ground and looking after our fish/fisheries, as Mush would say our blood brothers. If you want to know more about what they do, check our our website.

Just to see the TAC written about and being discussed on such a fourm as this is incredible, considering we are only at our first anniversay.

Cheers

 

[Bluenose]

....
Just to see the TAC written about and being discussed on such a fourm as this is incredible, considering we are only at our first anniversay.

Cheers

Welcome to the forum Dave and well done.

 

[alan whittington]

So Stikflote,they treat us as they mean to carry on,when the tories have finished reaming us out,how much disposable income will remain,will the trust reduce their tariff to match it,i think not,complete twaddle again,can they send me my remaining subs back and leave me be,i'd feel happier being a member of the RSPB.

 

[jimmy crackedcorn]

So Stikflote,they treat us as they mean to carry on,when the tories have finished reaming us out,how much disposable income will remain,will the trust reduce their tariff to match it,i think not,complete twaddle again,can they send me my remaining subs back and leave me be,i'd feel happier being a member of the RSPB.

£25 won't get you very far in the rspb mate !

 

[alan whittington]

£25 won't get you very far in the rspb mate !

People dont get it,do they,i may as well go down the high street and throw a grand away,it would do the self same thing as the £25,its not the cost,its the use thats being made of it in respect to our future as a sport,tell me if you were looking for the future of our birds would you be happy supporting the RSPB,then look back at angling and have a pause for thought.

 

[tuolumne fisher]

chaps we're all brothers or sisters of the angle, we all know we need a governing body, and we're all passionate about our sport
aint that enough
cant we accept that the AT aint gonna get it right all the time, the tangled web that is angling, is a mare to navigate
we all make mistakes and miss opportunities, but that doesn't mean they have to be hammered home
we should be glad that the AT is here, proud that despite all the ****, its still here
move away from expecting individuals to fund AT while in its infancy and put it on the tackle industry big time to fund it
shout from the rooftops about pollution, and water companies exemption from freedom of information
these 2 issues unite every angler and would increase our standing amongst non-anglers

The official Thames Anglers Conservancy line is that it supports the AT
this is mirrored personally by myself as explained above

please all of us take a deep breath, support those that are trying and making mistakes, cajole not confront and we just might get the rosey future we deserve

the most precious thing you can give is your time, so give it

 

[david i]

All I can say is take a look at the AT web site or mag to see what they have delivered for angling over the last 12 months -

And then please tell me who has done more?

Who, in the past 12 month have:

• Secured support from all three parties for our Angling Manifesto on the eve of the General Election.
• Got the Fisheries Minister to agree to designating a senior civil servant as a point of contact for the Angling Trust to represent recreational sea anglers’ concerns.
• Won six freshwater environmental campaigns ranging from barriers to fish igration to surface water pollution.
• Fought successfully for more than £20,000 in compensation for two angling clubs on the River Wharfe affected by pollution and continuing to pursue a further 65 legal cases on behalf of their members.
• Providing legal advice on more than 210 separate matters for member angling clubs, syndicates and individual riparian owners on issues ranging from access to zander.
• Applied, alongside WWF-UK, for a Judicial Review of Defra for the failure of the Environment Agency’s River Basin Management plans to implement the Water Framework Directive.
• Launched two new national angling competitions and finding £40,000 sponsorship for the unsponsored England coarse angling teams.
• Successfully delivering a pilot project to address poaching and illegal fishing in the Swindon area through their Building Bridges project.
• Supported a nationwide Crimestoppers initiative to protect fish health by providing a confidential helpline for anglers to report illegal fish movements and imports.
• Launching the Fred J Taylor Award for environmental stewardship to promote the work that anglers do to protect and improve the environment.

The Angling Trust- no one else!!!

All that for £20-25!

I have no doubt that some of you will criticise the AT come what may and even say that all the good work listed above is wroth nought - but think for a moment, who else is fighting your corner?

David

 

[stu_the_blank]

A couple of points.

Firstly, the Atr e-newsletter yesterday had a bit on the TAC. They seem to have a good working relationship with each other. So not sure what this is all about.

(As a side issue, these recent posts regarding the TAC have promted me to join!)

Secondly, agree about reduced rates for OAP's. I will write to ML about it. Would suggest any members who think likewise do the same. Remember, it may mean that the basic membership would have to go up to subsidise this though.

Stu

 

[jimmy crackedcorn]

If not a reduction, why not monthly payments taken out DD ? If folk cant afford £2 a month they have bigger problems than whether thay can go fishing.

 

[Jeff Woodhouse]

If not a reduction, why not monthly payments taken out DD ? If folk cant afford £2 a month they have bigger problems than whether thay can go fishing.

Just what I proposed before it started. That was £2 per month then and £20 if you paid in one lump.

Mind you, my first inclination was for £5 for the year and a separate donation to the ACA.

All water under the bridge for the time being. Good posts the last 4! Positive and forward looking, especially the OAP reduced rates - now that I am one!

 

[david i]

The option for monhtly or even quaterly DD certainly get my vote!

David

 

[stikflote]

Sorry Jeff,no reduced rates back to work for all of us, lol

 

[Ray Daywalker Clarke]

Sorry but nothing new and I cant be Ars*d with it any more.

 

[richiekelly]

A couple of points.

Firstly, the Atr e-newsletter yesterday had a bit on the TAC. They seem to have a good working relationship with each other. So not sure what this is all about.

(As a side issue, these recent posts regarding the TAC have promted me to join!)

Secondly, agree about reduced rates for OAP's. I will write to ML about it. Would suggest any members who think likewise do the same. Remember, it may mean that the basic membership would have to go up to subsidise this though.

Stu

i dont think that the basic membership cost would have to go up if the ATs gained more members from the reduced rate group,surely its better to have a new member contributing say £10 than a none member contributing nothing,i do agree though that th dd idea of £2 per month is one that the ATs should look into.

 

[Jeff Woodhouse]

Sorry Jeff,no reduced rates back to work for all of us, lol

That's the one and only advantage of getting old!

 

[tuolumne fisher]

the TAC applaud the effort those within the AT are making, they applaud the TAC for the same, and we applaud everyone else who makes an effort, but more importantly we HELP one another, irrespective of the differences

what do the TAC get from the AT ?, thats been explained earlier, but basically we do more than the average club, have a subsidised subscription because we are a consultative, and are not listed on their website, however when we get a phone call from one of their officers, asking about getting no poaching signs put up because one of their members is worried it is going on, we duly supply and erect the signs, HELPING ONE ANOTHER

enough about That Annoying Club, TAC

We all have the potential to make this work
the skill set we share is unmatched, the passion we display is unmatched
lets put those skills and passions to build, not self implode



our angling fore fathers must be turning in their graves, their message wasn't voiced in a world full of conservation and instant electronic communication, OURS IS
we have the potential to give the general public what they want for NUFFIN
people looking after the environment
everyone would be appalled that the water companies are exempt from freedom of information
and we have the potential to swamp anyone with hundreds of thousands of emails, we can all fish one anothers swim

put a little effort into them, vent your spleen at a councillor or some other non-angling doughnut, and tell your neighbour that waters companies are exempt from freedom of information, surely thats enough to keep us all busy

if you want a non-angling doughnut councillor to vent your spleen at, we can supply one that has allowed 27 boats to moor illegally for 3 years, thus preventing us from fishing