Otter Fencing - Angling Direct

Before

After

Our latest otter fence project was a 900m Otter Fence for Angling Direct's own lake in Hertfordshire. Angling Direct are one of the countries leading online, mail order and retail suppliers of fishing tackle. The project required extensive clearing and included one bank roughly 200m long that had to be raised by approx 1m to prevent swims flooding in the winter as in previous years. Once cleared, the trench was dug for the wire to sit underground and the posts driven. Heavy strainers were set at 50m intervals or every change in direction to ensure the wire could be stretched tight as it should be. Heavy cranked extenders were fitted to the top of every post and the wire strained, cranked and stapled . The trench was then backfilled and compacted. Once the corners of the cranks were finished and the gates wired, all that was left to do was to tidy up and come off site. - Easy ! As with all projects of this type, this one had its own unique challenges; A heavy gas main running very close to the original fence line meant a change in direction that required some additional clearing. Approx 150m of the fence line ran through a wooded area, but fortunately the area was planted in neat rows so no trees had to come down, just branches cleared to create a clear run for the fence. Approx 50m of the fence was across a tarmac car park, but once the trench was dug, the posts holes were created with our heavy rock spike and then driven as normal. This enabled Angling Direct to retain the entire car park within the new fence line and prevented the need for a second gate to be installed.

A comment from Darren Bailey - Managing Director at Angling Direct

"It became apparent over the past few months that with the ever increasing threat of Otter predation in the Lee Valley area we needed to act to protect our fishery for future years to come, the law doesn't really help fishery owners in this context, so our only functional option was to invest in Otter fencing. Having spent several hours researching the best solution for us, the Tornado fencing was selected, to this I then spoke to several installers about the project and meetings took place at the fishery. It was the guys from Farm & Country Fencing who were by far the most professional and understanding of our concerns and needs. Their focus on the project and the way in which we could route the fencing with minimal disturbance to the surrounding woodland was especially appreciated. Having now finished all the fencing work we have a little turfing and swim work to finalise, but we can look forward to having peace of mind now for our fish stocks for many years to come. Angling Direct can 100% recommend Farm & Country Fencing for any otter fencing project work, and I would be happy to chat to anyone who wishes to discuss our installation."