A North East fishing club has launched a legal complaint after an "obstructive" gate was installed, which they claim limits the access of wheelchair users and disabled anglers. 

Fish Legal has lodged a formal complaint to the new North Yorkshire Council for replacing a kissing gate at Hutton Rudby with a new one that obstructs access to one of the prime waters held by the Middlesborough Angling Club.  

The group have said that the new gate, which the council has installed after complaints regarding livestock security, is so narrow that anglers with wheelchairs or limited mobility can no longer access Hutton Rudby Pools.

The club reports that 31 per cent of its members have limited mobility, restricting them from getting to the pool and "greatly impacting" the club’s weekly fishing meets, of which numbers have plummeted since the gate was installed.

 The formal complaint from Fish Legal, a not-for-profit organisation of dedicated lawyers who use the law on behalf of anglers, comes after an Information Request (FOI) was submitted.

The group say that through FOIs, they found that the council, who paid outright for the gate themselves, did not conduct an Equalities Act Impact Assessment before fitting the new gate.  

Geoff Hardy, Fish Legal Solicitor representing the Angling Club, said: “This seems crazy, the council confirmed to us that they spent £440 on a tiny kissing gate and have taken the full-sized one away.

"Only after pushing them did they confirm to me that they hadn’t conducted an equalities impact assessment on what they were doing.

"Had they done so, they would have realised that they were reducing access to the path, which is in very frequent use by wheelchair-bound anglers and others with mobility issues. I have written them asking that the old gate be put back, it is as simple as that.” 

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Dale Conway from the Middlesbrough Fishing Club, added: “This might seem a small issue to most people but over 30 percent of our club members are disabled or have limited mobility, so this is of great significance to us.

"Every Monday afternoon we hold fishing matches at this prime club water, and they were exceptionally popular, offering camaraderie and welfare for our members. They were sellouts. Now with the new gate, we are lucky to see 3 or 4 people taking part.” 

North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of environment, Karl Battersby, said: “We have received a formal complaint on this matter this week and we will be investigating the issues raised and will respond to the complainant in line with corporate guidelines. It would be inappropriate to comment during a live investigation.”