The campaign
to maintain public access to Hatchmere Lake, Cheshire.
Friends of Hatchmere For People and Wildlife
email: yacovlev@hotmail.com
HISTORY OF THE DISPUTE
Hatchmere Lake has been used by the public for recreation and leisure activities (fishing,
bathing, bird watching etc.) for many generations. The lake is particularly popular with
families with young children who come from the surrounding area to enjoy the attractive waters
and to picnic on an area of grass adjoining a sandy bay. Many pensioners and disabled people
also visit the lake which is close to a public highway and the visual amenity is immediately
obvious to all who use this road.
Hatchmere was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1949. The conservation
value of the lake and its environs is concerned exclusively with it containing nationally rare
botanical species and insects. Historically there is no evidence of any conflict between the
conservation needs and the use of the Lake by the public.
The Lake was bought by Cheshire Wildlife Trust (CWT) in 1998 with grants from the Heritage
Lottery Fund (HLF), the Countryside Agency and Vale Royal Borough Council. Under the Conditions
of Grant imposed by the HLF CWT has a duty to keep the Lake and all its facilities open to the
public. During spring 2000, CWT fenced off the entrance to the sandy bay which is the only
public access point to the water and planted reeds across it. This coincided with CWT
appointing the Prince Albert Angling Society (PAAS) to act as site managers. PAAS high fees
and long waiting list puts it out of reach for many anglers.
Faced with a barrage of adverse media publicity, the formation of a campaign (Friends of
Hatchmere) and the removal of the fence and reeds by angry protesters, CWT, claiming that they
were unaware of the degree of public interest in the site, backed down. In
August 2000 they entered into an agreement with a committee, set up by the Norley Parish
Council, in which they agreed to take the necessary steps in order to welcome the public
to the site.
However fishing, by far the main human activity at the lake, remains exclusively in the
hands of PAAS. This matter has been taken up with the HLF who are responsible for upholding
their conditions of grant and the principles of the National Lottery.
