Abingdon Millstream

19/06/2023

I gained 14 followers, created 2 posts and received 63 reactions from March to June! Thank you all for your continued support. I could not have done it without you. 🙏🤗🎉

19/06/2023

I just walked the Millstream I was truly shocked . It has completely overgrown to the extent that the marine life can no longer navigate down there to breed ..it remained 5 ft deep and 25 ft to 40 ft wide for a thousand years yet the last 50 + years I have watched it silt up.. today it was 9 inches deep . I have tried to get it cleaned / cleared and de silted … it seems that the councils blame the Environment Agency and vice/ versa … it is a shambles that this historic stream has come to this .
The river Ock has become the same above the A 34 ….

16/05/2023

Hi All
Once again apologies for not posting much on here …
I have received today some good news from South Oxfordshire vale of white horse district council…they had a meeting to discuss the Millstream and have giving me a list of requirements they need to discuss in order for them to consider the project further… which is a good step in the right direction… So my next job is to answer all the questions they have purposed… l will need to go back and speak to the Environment Agency on a couple of matters also ..

I would like to add tho being a angler since I was kid and interested in all aspects of wildlife from birds to insects and mammals of the uk …. Some of you reading this might think that trying to restore the Millstream just for angling purposes which is not the case.. The Millstream holds many memories for me when as a kid fishing here with my father and over the years I have seen this water way deteriorating rapidly .. it was a breeding ground for many species of fish and as I have mentioned before it was some 5 th deep and now silted up to 1 ft deep in a few years it will be completely gone ..Anglers are the eyes and ears of the water ways .. we fish rivers and our catches determine the state of our water ways.. we always the first to spot signs of pollution and unauthorised anglers poaching and killing fish and report such activity’s… respectable anglers return all their catches back to the waterways .
While on the subject of angling and marine life … in the last 20 years certain species of fish have nearly diminished from our rivers like gudgeon the vast shoals have all gone the bullheads I’ve not seen one for years.. sticklebacks gone the native crayfish all gone been replaced by the invasive signal crayfish which feed on fish eggs ..also zander a invasive species of fish which have spread throughout the river systems and eat smaller fish and with the ever increasing population of people the waste going into our rivers is increasing… so bear with me people I am trying to get this all in perspective… Even so I do feel that a organisation like the Environmental agency could do the work here as they hold all the cards as with all the red tape and hoops I have to navigate it’s a doddle for them as they have really no one to answer to ..

10/04/2023

Hi people I’m afraid not a lot going on that’s why I have not posted on here for a while … still wait for confirmation from vale council planning departments to give me a ok to go on their land to do any work … Environment Agency could take it on but won’t because of costs tho have granted me 7K if and when get permission….. so want to get on with this but at the moment I cannot even start any fundraising…. so many obstacles and red tape and ticking all the boxes…
Regards

10/02/2023

10/02/2023

Hi People
Just to fill you in … I was waiting on the park’s manager from the Vale to grant permission to do some work cutting back
trees and now this has been passed on to [email protected] they have said I now got to wait up to 28 days for a response…. It does seem no one wants any responsibility for the state of the Millstream but will not allow us to get on..
l do hope this is not the case… I know others have tried to sort the mess that has been allowed to happen to one of the oldest man made waterways in the uk.
Soon it will be a stagnant pond completely sealed off from the main river and will become a breeding place for mosquitoes and other nastys …

02/02/2023

Hi All
Still waiting on permission from the vale to see if we could start clearing the far bank of the mill stream of the fallen trees .. Once that is in place can get a fund rising campaign going …

23/01/2023

Out with the EA Stuart Keable Angling Trust Tom Humpries Adrian Thorn and Philip Kenrick. Discussing the next steps to take on cleaning up the Abingdon Millstream ..

19/01/2023

Hi this was the clogged up Abingdon mill stream this morning down at the mill and after Alan Terry Adrian and Andy cleared it we had some good flow.. well done guys ..

18/01/2023

Some great news today from Environment Agency today offering £5000 towards the work involved… Also been out with the vales park manager who was very helpful today …so when the fund is up and running spread the word … we can do this . Regards Paul