Extracted from 'Clanfield What' October 2008 - Alan Crisp letter
I have read the article in the August/September What? by Albert Allen with great interest. His suggestion that one day’s clearing of the Clanfield Brook by the Parish Council would reduce the Clanfield Brook to a sterile stream has absolutely no creditability. The definition of ‘sterile’ in the Oxford dictionary is:
~ Free from bacteria or other living micro-organisms ~
I cannot believe that Mr Allen understands the word sterile!
When I came to Clanfield in 1976 we had kingfishers that flew up and down the Clanfield Brook – we had fish, lots of fish – and crayfish all living happily with the voles in a environment that was flood-free – so what happened? Twelve years ago the Environment Agency (EA) took over the management of our rivers and the Clanfield Brook is by EA standards a river and is under their control.
Let’s review the 12 years of EA management:
Where are the kingfishers? I have not seen one for the past 5 years.
We have no fish in the brook
The crayfish have disappeared
Vole population is under pressure
Clanfield now floods.
Mr Allen – does this not indicate to you that the experts in the EA might have got it wrong? To follow EA directives blindly without question would indicate a lack of understanding of our countryside - the EA management it appears is not accountable for their actions. It can spend our monies on 10 year projects and walks away blaming everyone else when the project fails. “Not us, we are the experts”
Mr Allen, are you becoming sterile in your thinking? I would suggest that you start to question the management of Clanfield Brook by the EA over the past 12 years. The vole population might benefit from a good dose of common sense - not some theoretical plan that has no practical foundation from so-called experts. I am sorry that Mr Allen does not take the time or trouble to attend Parish Council meetings. If he did then he would realise that the Parish Council loves and adores the village of Clanfield - that’s why they give up so much of their time in looking after the interests of all the parishioners and a ‘not-to-be sterile’ Clanfield Brook.
Alan Crisp
