Here's the latest info on the Dee access negotiations. For more
information on the background to this situation visit
http://www.sharedrivers.org.uk

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This is a WCA statement in response to the access agreement we have
been offered by angling interests on the River Dee.

Last week we were offered an agreement, which we've rejected for a
number of reasons. We were offered one ‘limited numbers tour' for
February 2004, then no further recreational access until 2005. We felt
it would have been a step backwards to accept this as we would have
had the same number of Tours but for fewer people.

The February tour date for this year was limited to 400 people. Dee
tours have never had such a numerical limit imposed on them before,
and we felt that to run an event this year with such severely
restricted numbers would have been unmanageable and not in the best
interests of paddlers. The date that was offered was also
unrealistically soon, considering the organisation and planning that
are needed for an event of this scale. From a health and safety
perspective, this arrangement couldn't have worked.

We also felt that it was unrealistic to offer access to 400 people
over two days on condition that the rest of the paddlers in the
country stayed off the river for the remainder of 2004. We'll only
accept an agreement that we feel is realistic enough for paddlers to
accept.

Although the angling interests have asked us to request that paddlers
stay away, we can only advise people that there's no access agreement
in place on the river (outside the Mile End Mill site). We'll continue
to give this advice until a realistic access agreement is in place on
the Dee.

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Pete Cornes