No Fishing warning for River Slea in Sleaford

The Sleaford Navigation Trust owns the bed and bank of the waterway in Sleaford between Carre Street and the A17 by-pass.

A statement from the trust issued on its Facebook page states: “With that we also own the fishing rights and would like to clarify that we have not given permission for anyone to fish in that section. No permits are available and no fishing is allowed there.”

Andy Greenwood from the Sleaford Rivercare Clean Up Group will be seeking funding to install some ‘No Fishing’ notices along the banks. Chris Hayes, chairman of the Navigation Trust adds: “The statement on the website is to make the position clear and, in a sense, authorise any notices.”

Sleaford Town Council staff and contractors have been working on the banks of the River Slea at Eastgate Green in town, installing coir rolls, filling them with soil and assisting Navigation Trust volunteers with planting to help reinstate and protect the eroded banks.

A work party this week put in specialised seeded plugs in the coir roll edging.

The Trust thanked the Greggs Foundation who helped fund the work there with a £1,000 grant.

Mrs Hayes said: “The increased water depth made things a bit difficult but at least there’s no danger of the aquatic plants drying out and hopefully new growth will start soon. The wire mesh on top of the plants is a temporary measure to prevent the young shoots from being eaten by the ducks before they get properly established.

“Hopefully before too long the coir roll and vegetation will help provide habitat for a variety of species as well as helping to stabilise the bank.”