Tide turns against new housing

Tide turns against new housing     There is a very interesting cameo currently being played out in the planning offices of southern Hampshire that may have a profound impact on new housing across all of Britain. Because for the moment, in response to a legal challenge, all planning applications for new homes across eleven local authorities have been suspended. Such is the impact that Fareham Council have even cancelled their June planning committee meeting with nothing to discuss. This is the story so far. The Solent looking towards Porchester Castle. Photo by Ian Wright. In the light of two European Court rulings in 2018 Natural England advised councils that allowing treated sewage to be discharged into the Solent (the 20 mile strait that separates the Isle of Wight from the mainland of England) was no longer permitted if it emanated from newly built homes. As a result "planning permission should not be granted" for new homes unless the developments were "nitrate neutral". Now I've been unable to discover exactly what nitrate neutral means in a practical sense, but it has been enough to send all the major housebuilders into a flurry of PR activity with nobody appearing to have a simple nor quick solution beyond further legal challenge. The essence of the problem is that nitrogen in wastewater is accelerating green algae growth in protected areas of the Solent putting the fish, wildlife and the entire food chain at risk as the algae chokes off all other life. And that is before we've even mentioned human health issues. It won't have escaped your notice that rivers are, more often than not, the conduits through which the polluted water reaches the sea so we do have more than a vested interest in the outcome of the current impasse even though nitrates are second behind our number one enemy, phosphates. Between those two, plus some others, there is a cocktail of chemicals polluting our rivers by over-enriching the water that stimulates the unnatural growth of opportunistic plants such as blanket weed that have a similar effect on rivers to that of algae in the sea. My hope is that if the case against nitrates is upheld then phosphates will follow. However, the worry has to be that house builders get around the nitrate ruling by arguing that new houses built on agricultural land represent no net increase in nitrates, farming being a greater culprit in this respect. So, we could have the absurd situation that green field sites receive planning consent whilst brown field sites don't. At this point I think it is very much a case of watch this space as for now the news doesn't seem to have filtered into the wider national media.   Girl power Last Sunday we had a great day here at Nether Wallop Mill hosting nine girls from Hanford School in Dorset; wildly enthusiastic barely covers their huge delight of all things fly fishing.  I'd like to think it was all about us, but I suspect they were also demob happy, in their final few weeks of their final term, safe in the knowledge that their future in respect of their next school (they were all thirteen) was mapped out. For reasons I couldn't exactly discern every fish caught was given a name. As they laid them out on the grass with great ceremony, they gave each a name, calling out each I turn: Tom, Dick, Harry, George .... in the end I was forced to ask why they had all been given male names. 'Oh,' they said, 'That's simple. Only a man would be stupid enough to take a fly.' The Spice Girls have a lot to answer for. Kids Summer Camp I am pleased to say we will be running the Summer Fish Camp in July for what must be the third or fourth year. It is based here at Nether Wallop Mill with forays out to the chalkstreams. It runs from a Monday to a Thursday covering casting, catching, gutting, fly tying, rivercraft, entomology and much more. It is all based outside led by our excellent instructor/guide Steve Batten with some help from me. All the tackle is provided; just add your 12-15 year olds. July 22-25. £250 for the four days or £75/day with a minimum of two days including the first day. No previous experience required. Call 01264 781988 or email diane@fishingbreaks.co.uk.  More details here   The many ways in death   Celebrating death with a living act in an increasingly non-secular society is forever pushing the boundaries; what would once would have seemed sacrilegious is now a perfectly normal an act of remembrance. And rivers, the places that chime of many happy times, often seem appropriate. A regular client once confessed to me that he sneaked on to Keepers Bridge early one morning at Bullington Manor to spread his father's ashes on the water, the last place they had fished together. The trouble was he wasn't quite early enough, caught in the act with an upturned urn by a rather bemused river keeper.  In a similar fashion my boat mate at the One Fly in Wyoming produced a test tube containing a portion of a former team mate; it was rather touching as the slick of ash slid away on the current slowly breaking and dispersing as his friend went down river for one last time. I think that was infinitely more appropriate than the group of carp fishers who a couple of years back incorporated the ashes of their late friend in bait balls. I tell you all this because even in death the entrepreneurial spirit lives. I was sent a copy of the US magazine Gray's Sporting Journal that carries a rather beautiful photo story of a visit to our chalkstreams; read that here. But leafing through I came across an advert for www.rounds2remember.com In essence you send the company the ashes of your dog to be incorporated into hand loaded shotgun cartridges for one last shooting trip together. In its own way it is both bizarre and strangely appropriate.     The Quiz Back to the more normal random selection of questions, with little theme beyond the topics in this Newsletter. As ever, it is just for fun, with answers at the bottom of the page.  1)      How long is the coastline of the main island of Great Britain? 2)      How many of the 48 English counties are landlocked? 3)      How many music albums did The Spice Girls (1994-2000) release? Enjoy the weekend. Best wishes,      Simon Cooper simon@fishingbreaks.co.uk Founder & Managing Director www.fishingbreaks.co.uk Answers: 1)      11,073 miles as measured by Ordnance Survey   2)      22   3)      4. Three studio. One compilation.

The view of the Wattle Man

The view of the Wattle Man Greetings! I went up to see my old friend Trevor the hurdle maker a fortnight ago. He was some weeks late (and still is .....) in completing an order and mobile phones are not exactly his thing. And anyway it's always good to catch up and it's a lonely life being a wattle man. This is the view from Trevor's office, if that is what you want to call a clump of a few hundred acres of woodland folded into the Hampshire downs just east of Stockbridge. On the sunny mid-May day I visited the last of the bluebells were fading and the surrounding fields vivid yellow. It was as perfect a spring day as you can get. 'Enjoy it while you can,' says Trevor. I know what he means. I've been up here in all seasons, a place that has precisely zero creature comforts. Winter business is conducted in the front seats of Trevor's battered car. But today the weather Gods are smiling on us or at least I thought so until Trevor delivered his verdict in answer to my question as to how things were. 'Terrible,' he said, 'It's this global warming. Trevor has coppiced these hazel woods for thirty years. It's a seven year rotation from one harvest to the next, each hazel growth largely used for making hurdles. The upright stems are cut from the stools, which are 2-3 centuries old, with a bill hook, a sort of curved hand axe and left for a few weeks or months depending on the time of year to allow the sap to run out, at which point they are split longways in two. The process of making a hurdle (Trevor can produce two or three a day) is done entirely by hand and without the use of any material other than hazel. There are no nails. No wires. Simply twisting and flexing the hazel in manner of construction that is both rigid and pliable. A good hurdle, originally used around southern England for folding sheep in temporary enclosures, will last a decade or more despite being constantly uprooted, moved, abused by the sheep and subjected to the downland weather. There is a whole raft of terms Trevor recites as he makes the 6ftx3.5ft panel. Uprights sail. Weaving rods. Windings. Jonny spur stabber. Finishing rod. His hands are both hammer and pliers as he weaves and compacts. It is sort of fun to have a go, but I'm not sure I could do it day in, day out. Today there is little demand from the sheep farmers for hazel hurdles or house builders (think wattle and daub) but Trevor is busier than ever. 6ftx6ft panels make for popular fences. Garden centres have an insatiable demand for decorative panels in all manner of sizes for all manner of uses. So why so gloomy? How could the centuries old tradition of hurdle making be affected by global warming? It is all about growth rates and the pattern of growth. A centuries old hazel stool  No longer is the rotation seven years; it is coming down to something closer to five. The reason? The lack of cold winters. In Trevor's first two decades the hazel grew for seven months of the year and was dormant for five, the sap rising and falling with the change of the seasons. But now there is no dormant period. The hazel keeps growing, even if only ever so slightly, all year round. Now you might think that no bad thing. More growth equals the potential for more money. But the problem is that the growth is too fast. The dormancy is an essential part of ensuring strong and pliable hazel stems. In short, there is more of the raw material, but it is not as good. This upsets Trevor. He knows in his heart his 21st century hurdles won't last as long as those he made in the 20thcentury. It is not his fault. And in truth it won't be the end of the world if his panels last ten years instead of fifteen. But it's an ever so subtle clue that, regardless of the reasons, nature is changing. The Frankel book: delayed at the start About this time I was confidently expecting to be shooing the moths from my morning suit in preparation for a whirly gig of PR as my Frankel book was launched in the run up to Royal Ascot. Sadly, it is delayed for a full year. It was always going to be a tight deadline; to a certain extent writing the book is the easy part. Preparing the 100,000 or so words for publication is a whole different thing. Editing, fact checking, manuscript approval, cover design, proof reading, indexing, typesetting and not to mention getting your allotted time on the William Collins printing presses all play a part. In the end we just ran out of road; not the happiest call I have had this year. You might ask why we didn't simply push the publication date a month or two later. Well, there were two lines of reasoning. The first was that Royal Ascot is, aside from the Grand National, the best time of year to catch the eye of a public that is interested, but doesn't regularly engage with, horse racing. Likewise, media editors in print, TV and radio, are more receptive to horseracing stories that feed into the Royal meeting vibe. In short, it is too good a PR window to pass up. As for just later in this year, well summer is somewhat problematic with holidays and such. Push on into the autumn and my book would have been swamped by super Thursday (all books are published on a Thursday, don't ask me why) when the Christmas headline authors, celebrities, chefs and their like, are rolled out to catch the Christmas wave. So, it is now going to be May 2020 for me. Guess I just better get on with the next book in the meantime ..... Last minute spaces for Father's Day & River Walk with Simon Cooper I have some last minute slots due to changes of plans: Father's Day weekend Saturday June 15th I have three spaces left for a Father & Child on the afternoon event (2pm-5.30pm) at Nether Wallop Mill. £125. Tuition, tackle and flies provided. Take home two fish! River Walk with Simon Cooper Monday June 17th Join me for a visit to the Leckford Eel Traps, Halford's Oakley Hut at Mottisfont Abbey and the water meadows. Meet at The Peat Spade, Longstock for coffee and an illustrated talk. Return after all the above for lunch at 2.30pm. Three places left. £75 for one. £125 for two. Fishing Breaks is recruiting Fishing Breaks has a full-time vacancy based at Nether Wallop Mill in Hampshire. In broad terms the position will entail working in the office for the majority of the week in a general sales/marketing role liaising with customers, river owners, river keepers and guides. The remaining time will be split between guiding/instructing and assisting our river keeper with weed cutting, restoration projects and general duties, plus holiday cover. The vacancy requires good computer/administrative skills and an excellent telephone manner. A recognised guiding/instruction qualification is a requirement as is a full driving licence. The work will primarily be Monday-Friday with occasional weekends. Please reply with your CV and a covering letter to vy email to Simon Cooper simon@fishingbreaks.co.uk Applications close 10/June. Interviews will take place w/s 17/June. PS Diane is not leaving and nor am I retiring. We just need some help! Feedback Draw winner for May  Another Mayfly season is drawing to close. In its own way that is rather sad. We spend months in anticipation and then its gone. June is always something of a readjustment but long, dusky evenings should be temptation enough over the summer to come. Well done to Colin Fairley, who fished on our new beat at Steeple Langford on the River Wylye, the winner of the recently published River Itchen at Martyr Worthy by George Edward Mann which I review in the July edition of Trout & Salmon. If you wish to buy a copy of George's book, which follows in the footsteps of legendary Itchen keeper Ron Holloway, you may do so direct via his web site at £35. The Quiz As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of D-Day this week a few related questions. As ever, it is just for fun, with answers at the bottom of the page. One little bit of wartime trivia before you do the mental deep dig. If you are familiar with Bullington Manor you will know that near the top of Beat 2, just below the white road bridge, there is a pool we call the Tank Trap.  This was in fact created by tanks travelling from Salisbury Plain to Portsmouth in to join the D-Day convoy. The bridge was too weak and too narrow so they diverted to the right, fording the river, the tracks cutting out the pool which remains today. 1)      Which American General, later a US President, fished the River Test in May 1944? 2)      What does the term D-Day denote? 3)      How many Allied beachheads were established on the Normandy coastline? Enjoy the weekend. Best wishes,      Simon Cooper simon@fishingbreaks.co.uk Founder & Managing Director www.fishingbreaks.co.uk Answers: 1) General Dwight D. Eisenhower 34th U.S. President. 2) D-Day is a general military term for the day on which an operation or exercise is planned to commence. 3) Five. Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.