New fishing platform at Hampstead Heath Model Boating Pond

The Highgate and Hampstead Anglers Society (HAHAS) has installed the platform, the first of its kind on the Heath, on the Model Boating Pond.

It makes the pond accessible to all anglers, including those who are disabled.

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Chris Kimberley, who suffers from osteoarthritis and has impaired mobility, can drive his scooter straight onto the platform.

Chris said: “I can’t fish the north and south banks of the pond because of loose pebbles and uneven ground, while on the east bank my scooter gets in the way of passers-by.

Chris Kimberley is able to take his mobility scooter onto the new fishing platform on Hampstead Heath (Image: HAHAS)

This new platform is brilliant for me – it is smooth, level and off the main path.”

The project started in early 2023, when HAHAS applied to the Environment Agency's Fisheries Improvement Fund for money.

To qualify for the cash, the society needed to demonstrate its commitment to improving angling opportunities, which HAHAS chairman Bob Gibbs said  was proved by its school tuition programme, Give Angling A Go events, and work with the City of London Corporation (CoLC), which manages the Heath.

The bid was successful and CoLC ecologist Adrian Brooker helped devise a plan  to put the platform up. Specialist providers Stillwater Management were engaged to carry it out and the work was completed on May 17.

The angling platform on the Model Boating Pond on Hampstead Heath (Image: HAHAS)

Bob added: “This is a significant win for all the anglers on Hampstead Heath and I would like to thank the Environment Agency and CoLC for making it happen.

"HAHAS believes that by co-operating with the Heath authorities we can improve angling access, and this outcome can only reinforce that view.

"I urge local anglers to join HAHAS and help us continue to give angling on the Heath the voice it deserves.”