Castleford residents are invited to a day of celebration on December 8, 2007, to mark improvements to the town’s riverside area and the launch of a new fish pass on the River Aire.
Yvette Cooper MP will meet the community on Saturday 8th December at 1.00pm and officially open the fish pass and draw the names of ten local schoolchildren who will be the first to cross the new river footbridge when it opens next month.
Completion of the fish pass, which is next to the footbridge, is a significant milestone in the regeneration of the River Aire at Castleford which has improved biodiversity and encouraged people to enjoy the river again.
The effects of industry and mining have taken their toll on Yorkshire’s rivers, but after 200 years salmon are now returning to the Aire. The fish pass will now help both coarse fish and the salmon migrate up the river.
The pass is built into the weir on the north side of the river, allowing fish to swim and leap up a series of baffles into the waters upstream.
Darren Starkey, project manager at the Environment Agency said:
“The work that has been done in recent months in Castleford is already greatly benefiting wildlife and local people. We’re looking forward to seeing how successful the fish pass is – as soon as it opens we should start to see fish using it to get further up the river.”
“But there are more than 30 weirs on the Aire, and only six have fish passes. It will be some while before we can attract funding to create more fish passes upstream,” he added.
The day of celebration in Castleford starts on Saturday 8th December at 9.00am with a fishing match, using new platforms along the river installed as part of the project. There will also be an opportunity for local children to get involved with nest box making, with help from the RSPB, as part of aims to encourage wildlife back to the river.
Old pictures of the riverside, showing its heritage and how it has changed over the years will be on display for the public to see, which will encourage people to reminisce about years gone by.
The Environment Agency was awarded £309,000 funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) while Castleford Riverside Community Group contributed the £70,000 it gained from the SITA Trust to fund construction of the fish pass as part of the Castleford Project.
Working with Castleford Riverside Community Group, Castleford Heritage Trust, Groundwork Wakefield, British Waterways, Wakefield Council and Channel 4, the Castleford Project aims to reconnect the people of Castleford with the river.
The Environment Agency will monitor the biodiversity improvements and fish populations on the river, using hydro-acoustic techniques and information from angling catch returns, to see the impact of the fish pass.
When the new footbridge is complete, it will create a vantage point for people to catch glimpses of fish using the pass.
