The Angling Trust have accused the Environment Agency of breaking promises over their plans to develop hydropower from weirs.

The EA have invited discussions to develop the energy source on a further three of their weirs on the Thames at Marlow, Boulters and Boveney, despite a pledge in 2008 that no other Thames weirpools would be developed for hydropower until the first, at Romney, had been fully evaluated for its environmental impact. Romney has yet to be built.

Three other weirs (Teddington, Bell and Sunbury) have also been suggested and others the Agency are working on with community groups are at Goring and Osney (the latter is in addition to one already approved on the weir), Abingdon and Sonning, making a total of 11.

Local residents are also keen on a hydropower plant at Sandford.

However, from an angling point of view it seems to me that the EA, who are supposedly there to protect and look after our rivers and streams, don’t actually care about the sport.

The two hydropower plants which will be built at Sawley and Gunthorpe on the Trent have a licence to kill 100 coarse fish in any 24-hour period before they are shut down.

That to me is unnacceptable. Our waters are really struggling to cope with cormorants, mink, signal crayfish, otters and abstraction, and now this.

The future looks grim.