Costa Beck: The once-prized fishing stream in Yorkshire which has been devastated by pollution
As Martin Smith casts a fly, his boots get stuck in silt – more than 1ft of it.
He’s attempting to catch a trout or a grayling, more for the photo opportunity than anything else.
Because for decades, a once prized stream for trout and grayling near Pickering has offered little to anglers, having been devastated by sewage pollution, commercial effluent and agricultural runoff.
The smothering effect of silt – this stretch was cleared of 1,200 tonnes six years ago – means any eggs spawned by fish won’t develop because they’ll be starved of oxygen.
It’s the same tale repeated up and down the land – with Costa Beck a prime example of regulatory inaction.
Only 14 per cent of rivers are currently achieving “good ecological status”, with no improvement seen for at least a decade.
Since 2023 the Pickering Fishery Association, of which Martin is honorary secretary, represented by Fish Legal, has taken the Environment Agency to task in the highest courts.
Their case is essentially an attempt to get the EA to do what they are supposed to do – improve the ecological status of Costa Beck – a name given by Scandinavian ancestors, meaning river full of fish.
In April judges dismissed Environment Secretary Steve Reed’s argument that it was administratively unworkable to develop specific measures to clean up individual rivers, lakes and streams, as required under legislation.
However despite winning their most recent legal bout, the EA “hasn’t done anything yet”, says Martin, who adds: “They have to create a programme of measures to achieve the environmental objectives.
“If they don’t they’ll be in breach of the court order and we can do them for damages.”
Costa Beck, where fishing matches once took as many as 750 to 1,000 fish, rises at Keld Head, a mile west of Pickering.
The water emerges from limestone bedrock, creating an alkaline environment and a habitat rich in aquatic life.
However the problems were plain to see when The Yorkshire Post visited days after Yorkshire Water had completed a £65,000 “sludgebusting” exercise, removing 40 tonnes of silt, on a 200-metre stretch.
A hundred tonnes of gravel went down just a week ago, but much a ppears to be covered in silt already.
Where it’s coming from is a matter of dispute.
Yorkshire Water has a combined sewage discharge further downstream, there are also two trout farms - one is owned by the EA - which discharge into the stream, and there’s also a land drain carrying agricultural run off.
One of the riparian owners David Goodfellow, who has a holiday cottage business, says: “It’s ridiculous.
"You have to take the EA to court and have the government fight back because they aren’t doing their job.”
Pickering’s waste water treatment works has “limited capacity” and Martin says spills “too frequently” - 90 spills for 279 hours in the past year.
And a housing problem is looming - Martin reckons as many as 1,000 could be built in the town in the near future.
“Another case of not joined up thinking. The combined sewage outfall needs moving. Data shows the trout farms have exceeded their consents. You can’t say one thing is to blame but they all contribute. It’s death by a thousand cuts.
“There’s silt on the new gravel within a week. How are they going to stop it?”
The EA believes the majority of sediment is coming from land drainage and surface water run-off.
A spokesperson said: “We have an ongoing investigation to determine restoration work that may be needed in future to help specific habitats.
"An update of the programme of measures needed to achieve the environmental objectives for Costa Beck is underway and will be published in due course following a public consultation.”