Angling club looks at legal action over river flow

Punk star and clean rivers campaigner Feargal Sharkey says the Environment Agency is committing "an act of environmental vandalism that is unmatched in recent history"

An angling club whose members include singer and environmental campaigner Feargal Sharkey has threatened to take legal action if a river's water flow is not increased.

Amwell Magna Fishery (AMF) in Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire has instructed lawyers over the Environment Agency's decision to reduce the flow of part of the River Lea.

Former Undertones frontman Sharkey said the agency was engaged in "decimating the oldest populations of breeding brown trout in the River Lea".

The Environment Agency said managing water levels was complex, and it constantly looked to "strike the right balance" between demands on resources.

AMF, which was founded in 1841, said the decision to reduce the flow was "devastating the watercourse".

Lawyers representing AMF said it was not clear why water was being abstracted, but it comes as England battles with droughts, prompting water companies to ask for permission to abstract water from rivers to help shore up supply.

According to their letter sent via its lawyers, the Environment Agency began reducing the flow of the River Lea between Ware and Stanstead Abbotts on 3 June.

It is claimed that originally, about 156 million litres of water per day were flowing and this was cut to 66 million litres per day.

The Stanstead Mill Stream after it splits from the River Lea at a weir within the Amwell Magna fishery

AMF, as a holder of fishing rights in the area, said low water levels had previously led to significant damage to the aquatic ecosystem, and the club said wildlife and biodiversity were now being adversely impacted.

The club is represented by Leigh Day partner, Ricardo Gama, who said: "We have now sent a judicial review pre-action letter requesting that the agency urgently restores flow to our client's stretch of the river."

The Environment Agency said there were many demands on river levels "from fisheries and nature, maintaining assets such as flood defences, prolonged dry weather, and public water supply and navigation".

"We are committed to working with all communities and stakeholders to improve our rivers, within our legal duties," it added.