Fishermen fear Chippenham Avon Project water level drop

Led by the Environment Agency (EA), the scheme will involve the removal of the aging radial gate and weir in Chippenham and the installation of smaller weirs down the river.

Swindon Isis Angling Club fears this will cause a significant drop of the water level, similar to what was experienced near the Avon Mill Radial Gate by Sutton Benger.

The EA lifted the Avon Mill Radial Gate clear of the water. (Image: Jessica Moriarty) The EA has argued that the Chippenham Avon Project will allow fish to move more freely, improve the river’s ecology and reduce the local flood risk.

However, the 64-year-old secretary of Swindon Isis Angling Club, Nigel Russell, reports that lifting the Avon Mill Radial Gate has made the surrounding area “relatively unfishable”.

He said: “The central rapids, in normal conditions now, are about a foot deep, as opposed to being six foot deep.

“And the river is narrowed into a central position so that it’s difficult to get down to it.”

The water level has dropped significantly in the area. (Image: Swindon Isis Angling Club) Founded in 1959, the club has lost a third of its membership, with elderly and disabled anglers unable to climb down the banks.

89-year-old club chairman Peter Gilbert said: “Small clubs like ours depend on the membership, that’s our income, that’s how we can run the club.”

Both men believe the Chippenham Avon Project will have a similar effect and say their attempts at communication with the EA have been “going nowhere”.

Swindon Isis Angling Club secretary Nigel Russell (left) and chairman Peter Gilbert (right). (Image: Jessica Moriarty) Mr Gilbert said: “I don’t think Chippenham realises the devastating effect it will have on the river.”

Mr Russell added: “The river will be about a third of what it was originally.”

The EA explained that urgent safety concerns required Avon Mill Gate to be lifted clear of the water and it now allows local fish populations to freely migrate past the structure, which was previously difficult and impossible for some species, despite the presence of a fish pass.

Both Wiltshire Council and the EA have insisted upon the urgency of the Chippenham Avon Project after a “near catastrophic” incident in 2023, during which it became stuck, and Storm Ciaran threatened to flood the town.

The project falls under the wider Chippenham One Plan, and a six-week public consultation was held earlier this year.

A consultation on the final option for the Chippenham Avon Project will take place in Spring 2025. (Image: Environment Agency)

Wiltshire Council has said the work will cost between £15 and £20 million, with the majority of the funding already secured through a DEFRA flood defence grant.

The EA has acknowledged that water levels will be reduced from the radial gate approximately 2km upstream. 

Mitigation measures such as new rock cascades to raise the bed and the creation of a 30m wide terraced area, principally to stabilise the riverbank, are designed to account for these changes.

A spokesperson for the EA stated: “The radial sluice gate in Chippenham is at the end of its working life and carries a risk of sticking in the closed position.

“Replacing it will improve the situation for fish as well as reduce flood risk to the town’s people and property.

“Wiltshire Council and Chippenham Town Council are working with us to develop a solution where the outdated structure is replaced with a pair of rock cascades.”

They added: “We are listening to all views expressed about the Chippenham Avon Project through consultation, including those from the angling club, and plan to improve accessibility to fishing platforms in response to the reduction of water levels, which is relatively small for the majority of the river through Chippenham.”

Chippenham MP Sarah Gibson said: “When walking the length of the Chippenham Avon Project with the Environment Agency a few weeks ago, we discussed how the weirs had been designed to maintain a level of water that would ensure angling was protected in addition to the needs of the local sailing club and other stakeholders.”