Derry's Creggan Country Park fishery says local anglers 'gutted' after being forced to close

The closure came to light after Glenowen Fisheries confirmed the move via social media and warned that “this is a problem created by Stormont, specifically the Rivers Agency when they introduced a Reservoirs Bill in 2014."

Undergoing standard checks from the Department for Infrastructure Rivers (DFI), the dam failed the quality standard checks.

It is understood that a council engineer told Glenowen Fisheries that the reservoir water had to be drained by 11 metres. The drainage led to the fishery deciding to close the reservoir due to uncertainty over safety.

"The dams are old and haven’t enjoyed any major investment in a generation or two, they failed inspection,” Glenowen Fisheries stated.

They reassured that there was no danger of collapse, but said that “the engineers doing these reports provided a long list of repairs.”

The fishery claimed they were promised grants from the Rivers Agency to carry out the repairs but have yet to receive them.

Reservoir manager Gerry Quinn said: “We created a community of anglers, we ran popular competitions, a lot of banter and friendly rivalry at these competitions. We're going to miss all of that.

"Over 32 years, we provided a service that was appreciated. People who learned to fish there as children are now bringing their children.”

Gerry talked about how Glenowen Fisheries decided to close the reservoir.

“Over the last ten years, we have been made aware that Stormont is bringing in a reservoirs act. There hasn't been a substantial investment in a long time. The Rivers Agency in Stormont promised they would provide a revenue stream for social enterprises and charities, but they didn't do that.”

Gerry said that the Rivers Agency was sending emails explaining what was needed to bring it up to their standards.

“We don't have the money, never did,” said Gerry.

Gerry is now focused on working with the council to find a way to bring the fishing back, Gerry said: “There is no agreement in writing on where we are going but we expect that we will return sometime.”

Lastly, Gerry summed up the feelings of the local anglers: “Everybody involved is gutted,” he said.

Responding to the comments made in Glenowen Fisheries Facebook post, a Department for Infrastructure spokesperson said: “As these reservoirs are not in the ownership of the Department, responsibility regarding their safety would reside with the reservoir owner/manager who have a common law responsibility to prevent damage to land and /or injury to persons from flooding arising from failure to control the reservoir, or the part of the reservoir they manage. The directions from an inspecting engineer appointed by the reservoir manager, is to ensure the safety of the reservoir.”Continuing the spokesperson said: “The Minister plans to bring forward legislation to further implement the Reservoirs Act in due course, which will include the power to provide financial assistance to reservoir owners / managers. Provision of financial assistance will be subject to affordability and budget availability going forward.”