Redmire Pool: Restorations
Original blog removed at the request of Redmire's owners. It is replaced with a statement from Fennel and an update from Mark Walsingham acting on behalf of the Bernithan Estate.
Statement from Fennel
On 28 October 2017 I published a blog and video about the good work being done at Redmire Pool to return it to health. Emergency aerators were in place to save the fish and a bigger plan was underway to address the issues of siltation, nitrate & phosphate pollution, otter predation, and the presence of ghost carp in the pool.
The blog and video were intended to rally support for Redmire, getting people to volunteer their help (potentially through crowdfunded donations) rather than condemning the pool, criticising its management and moaning about lack of financial investment at Redmire – as had been happening online and in the press since 2014. (There was a swell of concern about the poor condition of the pool and that the Leney strain of carp was at risk.)
As I stated in the original blog: “I don’t want Redmire’s reputation, management or owners to be criticised. I love Redmire Pool and would rather see everyone offering their help rather than knocking what is or isn’t being done to restore it. The magic is still there, so it’s our duty to ensure that Redmire Pool remains as the mecca for those who cherish carp angling's history”.
Sadly Redmire Pool's management and owners did not see the positivity in my message, stating that the blog and video were unhelpful and ill-timed as future bookings could be affected by news of Redmire's condition. Mark Walsingham, whom I’ve known for many years, was appointed as the management’s representative on the matter. (His statement about the situation at Redmire Pool can be seen below.) Mark and I spoke. The conversation was friendly. It resulted in me agreeing to remove the video and blog.
Draw your own conclusions about what is or is not happening at Redmire Pool. Redmire Pool Limited is a business and as such has the right to prioritise its income and protect the reputation of its principal asset. I was happy to do as requested to maintain the belief held by many anglers that Redmire Pool is the nation’s most prized carp fishing jewel.
I trust that this statement, along with that of Mark Walsingham below, provides clear insight into what is and is not happening at Redmire Pool.
Fennel Hudson
2 November 2017
Update of the situation at Redmire Pool, by Mark Walsingham
Replicated from Facebook, dated 31 October 2017
I have been asked to provide an update on behalf of the Redmire management team on the condition of Redmire and plans for its restoration.
The family have become good friends during the two years in which I have worked closely with them, to address the long-term environmental issues Redmire faces and the management of the wider rural estate at Bernithan. The owners and management of Redmire understand fully the historical and cultural importance of the pool and its fish stocks. They have the long-term interests of Redmire at the heart of everything they have been doing to restore the pool and protect it for future generations to enjoy.
The problems Redmire faces are not straightforward to resolve, either in terms of the ecological challenges the pool faces, the wider environmental impacts affecting Redmire or the financial challenges of protecting and restoring the fishery. A well-planned restoration is in hand, informed by professional expertise and work continues towards the implementation of this plan. The family are working closely with individuals and organisations that have genuine expertise and decades of experience in catchment management, conservation, agriculture, estate management and fisheries management.
1. The sale of Bernithan Court
There are currently no plans to sell the Bernithan Estate. This has been considered in the recent past but the estate is not on the market and there are no plans for this situation to change, at this time.
2. Income from the Redmire fishery
I will not comment on matters of private detail but Redmire is only one feature of the Bernithan Estate. In more than fifteen years of professional estate management with the National Trust (I ended my Trust career as Head of Rural Surveying for the charity), I have worked with many small rural estates. A common feature of almost every one of them, is that they operate at a loss. This is particularly true where the estate assets include a set of high quality Listed buildings that have to be maintained, such as the Grade 2* Queen Anne house at Bernithan. Part of the restoration project at Bernithan that has been implemented already is to tailor the wider estate management to focus on nature conservation and the delivery of environmental protection for the Wye and Garron catchments from farming practices upstream of the estate.
3. Restoration costs
The detailed implementation plan for the restoration project has not been agreed at this time and the potential costs vary considerably depending upon the detailed operational approach taken to the de-silting of the pool. De-silting Redmire, whilst protecting its stock of Leney carp during this work is far from straightforward. What is clear is that the full restoration of Redmire will require a substantial capital expenditure.
4. Environmental impacts
The greatest impact on Redmire is the change in agricultural management in the catchment upstream of the pool. Redmire is essentially a sump in the landscape for all of the agricultural silt and nutrient run-off generated in the catchment upstream. None of the farmland generating the silt and nutrient run-off affecting Redmire is in the ownership of the Bernithan Estate.
The Restoration Project at Redmire includes engagement with neighbouring farmers, The Environment Agency and Natural England, to remove and/or mitigate the problems associated with agricultural run-off as far as possible, to protect the lake in the long-term.
Enforcement action to prevent diffuse agricultural pollution of this nature is notoriously difficult, if indeed any breach of current regulation has occurred and could be proven. The main emphasis of the work to date, has been to develop a good relationship with neighbouring landowners, so that everyone concerned can work in partnership to mitigate the problems affecting the lake.
The land around Redmire that is in the ownership of the Bernithan Estate is to be used to intercept and address the silt and nutrient run-off before it enters Redmire itself. A set of swales and silt traps will collect all of the run-off from the surrounding land and remove most of the sediment, nutrients and other pollutants before they enter the pool. Even this solution is not ideal and ideally, the problems should be addressed at source through a change in land management practices.
5. Oxygen problems
This autumn there have been acute dissolved Oxygen problems at Redmire that have given cause for concern. Action has been taken to protect the fish stocks by the installation of an aerator at the dam end of the pool and this has been successful. This is not a satisfactory situation however and use of the aerator is rather like plastering over the cracks in a subsiding house. A sustainable, long-term solution to the fundamental environmental problems identified above that have led to the Oxygen problems must be found.
6. Silt
The silt in Redmire does need to be removed and this work is included in the restoration plan. The silt in Redmire is primarily composed of inorganic soil from the surrounding farmland. In fact it is almost entirely composed of sand. Leaf-fall and weed decomposition are of minor importance relative to the build up of inorganic silt. The nature of the silt in Redmire means that the only practical means of de-silting the pool is to drain the pool and use excavators or to pump the silt out. Neither of these solutions is straightforward and both solutions require careful planning and a detailed implementation plan.
7. Fish stocks
The problems associated with the inadvertent release of ghost carp into Redmire in the past are recognised and a plan for the removal of any ghost carp and their offspring is included in the restoration plans. There is a long-standing policy in place to remove any ghost carp caught by anglers.
The removal of any carp that may be carrying ghost carp genes and the restoration of the genetic integrity of the Redmire stock is dependent upon removing all carp from the pool, irrespective of size, that have been spawned in the water since the ghost carp were introduced. Fortunately, there are excellent photographic records of the Redmire carp going back over many years. If a precautionary approach is taken to ensure that only carp present in Redmire before the introduction of ghost carp are returned to the pool after the de-silting works are completed, the integrity of the Redmire stock can be restored.
8. The future management of Redmire
There are no plans to change the way in which the Redmire fishery is managed. The owners of Redmire have access to the professional fishery management expertise they require.
If you like this blog by Fennel Hudson, you might also like the blog Redmire Dreams. Please subscribe to Fennel on Friday where you'll receive either a blog, video or podcast sent to you via email in time for the weekend. You might also like Fennel's books Traditional Angling and Wild Carp.