A FISHING permit for Arrow Valley Lake early last year cost £11, then later in the year it went up to £30, nearly a 200 per cent rise.

But the problem is there have been no changes made for this increase for the anglers.

The sailing club is taking control of the lake as they are always on there.

Their days are Sunday mornings in the summer, two evenings a week and they have so many Saturdays throughout the year for regattas.

But they also are there on most Saturdays for training, which they are meant to stay in front of the sailing club or where the park wardens tell them.

But they don't do that either.

Take the other Saturday, for instance. My partner waited for a speedboat lesson to finish, which we knew was going to be on, and went down to fish about 1.30pm.

There were no boats so he started to fish and within half an hour, he had five boats in his peg and the rest of the lake was free.

He asked them to move somewhere else and all you get back is: "We are 20m from the bank", which for fishing is nothing.

They can fish 100m or more and the boats would still catch their line and they would lose all of the fishing tackle.

Sundays, they are meant to go off at 1pm but they stay on most weeks as well.

Most people work Mondays to Friday so that only leaves the weekend to fish but with the boats on all the time, that leaves no hassle-free fishing.

It just seems to me the council or the sailing boats or both want no fishing on the lake at all.

Why can't there be a compromise ...fishing one day, boats another, or fishing on one side of the lake, boats the other?

More money is being paid per year but less fishing can be done.

The amenities of Redditch are meant to be for everybody to use and get on but it doesn't work in this case.

Miss K WILTSHIRE

Slimbridge Close

Crabbs Cross