The pontoon of a Rotherhithe angling club whose members have been fishing since the Second World War will be moved and made smaller as part of development plans in Canada Water.
The Surrey Docks Angling Club’s pontoon will go from the eastern side of Canada Water Dock, near where the Decathlon is now. It will be cut from its current length of 130 metres to 75 metres.
The exact location of the new pontoon is unclear: the angling club members want it to go on the north side of the dock by the library, but Southwark Council said that might not be possible because officers had not done all the proper consultation yet.
The angling club itself welcomed the change. Representatives for the club have signed a legal agreement with Art-Invest, which is hoping to build office blocks on the east side of the dock, and British Land, which is building a boardwalk on the dock as part of its wide-ranging Canada Water masterplan.
The new pontoon will be completely renovated, and the club wants the area where each angler fishes to be defined by ‘habitat pods’ – pictures of plants like reeds and bulrushes – instead of just plain numbers as it is now.
Art-Invest will pay for the move, although the land itself is owned by British Land.
Steve Cornish, the angling club’s secretary, said: “Its great to know that the future of angling in the docks has been secured for future generations.”
The club has around 200 members and another 200 on the waiting list, as well as a growing club for children and young people.
Mr Cornish added: “Many elderly OAP Members have explained their joy of being able to get back out there fishing again after two years of Covid restrictions. Being able to fish is paramount to challenging health and wellbeing issues.”
British Land have cut down trees and vegetation around the outside of the dock as part of the process of building the boardwalk, sparking some concern from local residents.
British Land said last week that it was working with the London Wildlife Trust to mitigate harm by providing alternative habitats for the swans and other wildlife, in a presentation aimed at local residents.
The developer added that it was building nesting and feeding platforms with steps for cygnets, refurbishing three existing bird shelters and moving existing floating plant beds.