'More help for fish than flood victims'

Residents in Darfield, Barnsley, have been campaigning for three years for flood barriers on the River Dearne to ensure there is no repeat of the devastating floods of June 2007.

But their pleas have fallen on deaf ears while the agency has gone ahead and created a herringbone-pattern fish ladder in the river at public expense.

Darfield flood committee member John Bannister, 65, said yesterday: "The feeling in the village is that the Environment Agency are putting fish before people."

The rock ramp fish pass has been created to help fish such as chub and barbel find the best places to feed, breed and shelter.

The Environment Agency is also planning to build a car park and canoe launch as part of the scheme, to attract more people.

It claims the project is carefully designed to ensure there is no increase in flood risk in Darfield.

The fish pass has been paid for by a Defra grant of 160,000 and 90,000 has come from income from the sale of rod licences to anglers. Another 30,000 has been provided by public bodies.

On June 15 and June 25 2007 about 80 homes were flooded in Darfield when the River Dearne twice burst its banks. Around 30 residents had to be evacuated by boat.

To create the fish ladder, huge boulders – some the size of a family car – were lifted into the river by a crane. Residents now fear the boulders could affect the water level.

Mr Bannister, a flood warden whose own home was flooded in 2007, said: "We have been campaigning for flood protection work to be carried out in Darfield but have got nowhere.

"I've attended lots of meetings with various bodies and all we've been given so far is a large sand container with some shovels, sacks and sheeting which was delivered last week.

"We need some kind of barrier to stop the water coming over from the river and we need the river dredged to help the water get away."

He added: "Everyone here feels so defeated. Do the powers that be care more for fish than they do for people?"

Local councillors also say they were not properly consulted about the scheme, which was passed by Barnsley Council last year.

Fisheries technical officer from the Environment Agency, Jerome Masters, denied that there had been a lack of consultation.

He said: "Work on this scheme started in 2005 after the Environment Agency was approached by community groups who wanted to work with us to improve their area.

"Our work showed that by improving the weir to allow fish to move upstream more easily, and by making the area more accessible for people, we could improve it for the community and for wildlife.

"Fish attract other species such as otters and kingfishers, and this has the potential effect of encouraging more people to enjoy the region's rivers and wildlife."

Mr Masters said that the funding for the fish ladder was earmarked by Defra for "ecological and recreational improvements" and could not have instead been spent on flood defences, which are funded separately.

He added: "We worked closely with a number of organisations on the project including Darfield Community Association and Barnsley Development Agency.

"The local authority is a partner, and ward councillors will have been notified about the scheme by their own planning department."