Litter and setlines - Fen club hits out

Ely Beet Club controls a prime stretch of the Ouse downstream of Cromwell's city and the once legendary Roswell Pits. Officials have told their local paper an irresponsible minority who leave litter or even illegal setlines are ruining their waters for everyone. Click here.

Work to re-open Ely Ouse begins

Engineers have started work on replacing a railway bridge damaged by a derailed train.

Eleven wagons overturned when a freight train carrying ballast overturned on the bridge acros the river south of Ely on June 22.

The river has been closed to navigation because around 50 tonnes of gravel and other debris were dumped in the channel.

A new road is being built so a 100-tonne crane can reach the scene of the crash. Network Rail says the work could take months.

Booms have been put across the river to trap oil and brake fluid from the wagons.

Ouse could be closed "for months"

Rail chiefs today warned the Ouse south of Ely could be closed to boats for months, while a derailed train is removed from a bridge across the river. Forty tonnes of ballast fell into the river when wagons on a goods train overturned on Monday.

Network Rail says it may even need to build a new bridge, to carry the line across the waterway between Ely and Soham. More here.

Public meeting over Roswell Pits marina

Plans to turn Roswell Pits into a marina will be discussed at a public meeting on Tuesday.

The famed predator water on the outskirts of Ely, Cambs, has been bought by businessman Jeremy Tyrrell, who wants to re-open disused moorings to create a haven for narrowboats.

But anglers and conservationists are fearful of the impact the plan could have on the lakes, which are connected to the Great Ouse at Foremill Wash.

Now a group called Local Campaigners for the Protection of Rural Ely (LCPRE) is holding a public meeting to discuss the future of the venue.

Mr Tyrrell is already in a stand-off with Ely Sailing Club over access to Roswell, which is also boat fished by pike and zander anglers.

Dr Andrew Balmford, a member of LCPRE, told the Cambridge Evening News: "We have not had a public debate on the future of the site, so we are creating a forum to begin initiating that."

Campaigners are meeting at the City of Ely Community College at 8pm. For further details, call Dr Sarah Hall on 07791 512296.

***How the controversy unfolded - click here. For coverage in local paper the Ely Standard click here.

Ely/Fenland quiz night

Mark "phone a friend" Barrett will be compering Ely and Fenland's Christmas Quiz and Raffle at the Sportsman's Club, Chatteris, on Wednesday night.

Buffet and cheap beer on offer from 8pm, members £3/non members £4.

For directions and more info on meetings in that part of the world click here .