Shrewsbury Town Fishery: How the Fisheries Improvement Programme helped make fishing safe and accessible

The Fisheries Improvement Programme works hard to invest Environment Agency rod licence fees into projects that improve fisheries habitats and benefit and promote the sport of angling. This work could not be done without invaluable volunteer work and significant partnership funding, which leverages rod licence investments into broader community benefits around England.

Shrewsbury Town Fishery, located in the heart of the Shropshire town, undertook a site development project in 2024 to remove and replace degraded fishing pegs which posed a safety hazard to anglers.

They applied for funding from the Environment Agency’s Fisheries Improvement Programme fund in the 2024-25 cycle, and the EA was proud to support the fishery by providing £2,971 out of a total of £6,392 invested in the project from the partner.

The key issue at the site on the River Severn was that the fishing pegs stationed along Sydney Avenue and The Quarry had been significantly degraded due to old age and excessive flooding over the years, causing them to become a safety hazard. The work done in this project included removing these fishing pegs and replacing them with six brand new pegs for anglers to use.

The installation of new fishing platforms and footpaths to help provide safe access to the river is a continuous process, with the club having installed over 100 new or replacement river fishing platforms to keep improving inclusive access to angling.

The six new pegs installed in 2024 have increased access points to the riverbank for rod licence holders to use for fishing, making angling in these locations much safer and more comfortable. It hopes to improve access for all ages and abilities of anglers, particularly encouraging junior anglers to engage in and take up the sport through providing easily usable facilities. These new pegs provide additional benefits to the river ecosystem, through protecting the integrity of the riverbank and therefore biodiversity through secure infrastructure. These changes should increase the quality of the green spaces around the river’s edge, creating better recreational spaces for residents and families, which can also improve property values.

Andy Jones, who manages the fishery on behalf of Shrewsbury Town Council and Shropshire Council, submitted the project idea via the Angling Trust host online portal and stated that “the Environment Agency FIP Grants have been hugely beneficial … [helping] us move forward at a faster pace, enabling us to greatly improve our access for angling and well worth putting the time in to the applications to achieve so much more”.

As a result of the hard work completed in 2024, over 2,500 rod licence holders have benefited from upgraded angling facilities, with 2.5km of riverbank better able to be fished.