Anglers \u2018heartbroken\u2019 as stretch of River Tone stripped of trees
\nEnvironment Agency devastates banks of river near Taunton \u2018to protect properties in Bathpool\u2019<\/p>\n
Banks of the River Tone after the Environment agency cleared a 250-metre stretch. Photograph: Dominic Garnett\/PA<\/p>\n
Maya Wolfe-Robinson
\nSun 6 Feb 2022 11.00 GMT
\nAnglers are \u201cheartbroken\u201d after a 250-metre stretch of the River Tone in Somerset was stripped of trees by the Environment Agency as part of flood management measures.
\nThe semi-wild section of river running through Taunton was a popular spot for anglers and wildlife-lovers, where kingfishers were often spotted. However, the majority of trees were felled last week, leaving the banks of the river as bare earth.<\/p>\n
River Tone before removal of trees. Photograph: Dominic Garnett\/PA
\nDominic Garnett, 42, an angling guide and coach, has fished the stretch of the river for the past 20 years and has been visiting it since childhood. \u201cIt was a semi-wild stretch of river and they have channelised it,\u201d he told PA. \u201cIt is absolutely heartbreaking to see the destruction of the places you love \u2013 you go there to be with nature and to get away and it\u2019s all just been ripped away.\u201d
\nThe length of the river ran through marshland until the 1990s, when the surrounding land was tarmacked to make way for housing and a leisure and shopping complex.
\nGarnett said the area is now prone to flooding. While woodland planting is often used as a flood mitigation strategy, Garnett said representatives of the Environment Agency had told him the trees were felled \u201cbecause they make the water back up\u201d. \u201cIt is like they have taken an old hippie and given him a buzz cut \u2013 it is scorched earth tactics.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed out that huge swathes of trees had been cleared only weeks away from nesting season, with river plants dredged out when some species of fish are starting to spawn. \u201cIt makes them vulnerable to predators \u2013 fish need places to hide,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Dominic Garnett says the trees were cleared weeks before the nesting season. Photograph: Dominic Garnett\/PA
\nMark Barrow, a film-maker who has specialised in productions about freshwater species in the UK\u2019s rivers and lakes for the past 20 years, tweeted that he was \u201cshocked\u201d to discover the scene on the River Tone. \u201cComplete devastation, courtesy of the Environment Agency. Scorched earth work the Russian army would be proud of! Those stumps were decades old trees where I used to watch the local kingfisher. Everything is now disappearing.\u201d
\nA spokeswoman for the Environment Agency said: \u201cEssential work to manage flood risk and protect properties in Bathpool and the upstream town of Taunton is ongoing.
\n\u201cWe always work to minimise any impact to the environment when carrying out work and have measures in place to compensate, such as new tree planting. Flooding and coastal erosion can have terrible consequences for people, businesses and the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is understood the trees at water level were deemed to be creating a flood risk by catching debris and restricting the flow of water. The area is due to be sown with a wild flower seed mix and replanted with native trees. END<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Anglers \u2018heartbroken\u2019 as stretch of River Tone stripped of trees Environment Agency devastates banks of river near Taunton \u2018to protect properties in Bathpool\u2019 Banks of the River Tone after the Environment agency cleared a 250-metre stretch. Photograph: Dominic Garnett\/PA Maya Wolfe-Robinson Sun 6 Feb 2022 11.00 GMT Anglers are \u201cheartbroken\u201d after a 250-metre stretch of …. Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flooding.london\/rts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flooding.london\/rts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flooding.london\/rts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flooding.london\/rts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flooding.london\/rts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=704"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/flooding.london\/rts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":708,"href":"https:\/\/flooding.london\/rts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704\/revisions\/708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flooding.london\/rts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flooding.london\/rts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flooding.london\/rts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nSource document: https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2022\/feb\/06\/anglers-heartbroken-as-stretch-of-river-tone-stripped-of-trees<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n