E20 Trust must wait till after Olympics to build their fishing club-house
Kids have been given waste land on the banks of the River Lea next to the Olympics Park to build their own club house—but will have to wait till after the summer Games for security reasons.
The youngsters have already begun fishing at weekends at Old Ford Lock for the first time in 25 years.
Father-of-three Mark Kennedy decided to bring the riverbank back to life after decades of neglect and has set up the E20 Eastenders Fishing Trust.
Now British Waterways has given him a plot of land 15ft by 15ft—enough for a container that he wants to convert into a club house.
“This stretch of the Lea has always been a bit rough, till the Olympics regeneration,” he told the Advertiser.
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“It was never safe being alone, especially at night. River bailiffs found it too dangerous, with youths roaming the paths.
“One bailiff years ago was pushed into the water—they gave up after that.”
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Now the riverbank has been made safe with new lighting, wide paths, benches and flowerbeds.
But Mark has been told he must wait until after the summer Games for his club house project because of security, as it is only yards from the Olympics Park.
He is now negotiating to run a licensed angling scheme south of Lea Bridge down to the Old Ford Lock and the Bow Back Rivers and is looking for volunteers to help put the clubhouse together and run the fishing scheme.
