This postcard by David Poffley shows the Teesside White Water Course which was formerly known as the International Canoe Slalom Centre. Courtesy of John Duncan. 
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
This postcard by David Poffley shows the Teesside White Water Course which was formerly known as the International Canoe Slalom Centre. Courtesy of John Duncan.
As a former premier slalom canoeist and fisherman, I can tell you all now that canoeing is in no way detrimental to fish stocks or fishing. The sooner all our waterways are opened up for all to enjoy the sooner we will regularly see more medal winners. Its ridiculous in some areas when you have to drive many miles to paddle whereas fisherman can pop their line in anywhere. The bad feeling is all on the side of the anglers. Many times over the years I’ve had equipment sabotaged by anglers who believe they should be the soul beneficiaries of our waterways even where we have rights to paddle. Anglers and canoeists can live and enjoy their pursuits side by side and should for the good of all and the environment. After all I cant think of a greener leisure pursuit than canoeing.
The Tees barrage hasn’t cleaned the heavy polution that the Tees was full of, it cleared because we don’t have the polluting industries that emptied into the Tidal Tees.
Pollution never killed all the fish, but this impassable Barrage we have in place has been responsable for millions of returning fish being slaughtered.
I hope the canoe people are going to use this second course and produce some future Olympic canoe medal winners.
We have a first class lake containing course fish right up to Yarm, what we want to see for the 5 million pounds is a first class river that competes with the number one salmon river in England, the Tyne.
We have lost the Steel and the Football Team. I would love to see the king of the river return and their young ones to breed in our Tributaries.
There’s always two (or more) sides to every story and Chris Rea put an alternative view in his song "Steel River" about the Tees and those whose livelihoods depended upon the river and the industries that relied upon it. It may have been a dirty business but it was all about the creation of wealth. Our great-great-great grandparents may have lived in a pollution free, pre-industrial world, but for the agricultural workers who inhabited it, theirs was a short and poverty-stricken life. There is no such thing as a free lunch and there’s a price to pay for clean, salmon filled rivers.
This is a really amazing facility considering that the river used to be one of the most polluted in the UK. Last time I visited Stockton, about two years ago, I went riverside to have a look and was astonished at the changes in water quality. The barrage certainly has scoured the river. Added to the fact that industry has declined the quayside further down river is now a pleasant place to walk rather than the malodourous, glutinous mud that used to line its banks at low tide.
I have been haveing a little campaign to try and end the slaughter of migrating fish going in and out of the Tees so I was pleased to see the pictures provided by John Duncan.
On my last visit to the Tees Barrage white water course, work is well on the way hopefully on the £5 million pound new olympic white water course.
The site is full of heavy plant machinery it would be good to see some before and after photos on Picture Stockton.
I live in hope that this work will bring more tourists ect to the whole Tees Vally.
I also hope that 2009 Autumn Salmon and Sea Trout returning to the Tees Barrage will have 24 hours access to the Freshwater above the impassable Barrage.
We have a three year study at present to see the affects of the Barrage. I’m waiting for the third year. Migrating Salmon at Pitlochry has created a tourist attraction – maybe Britishwaterways, the present owners, might listen to the public and use this free act of nature for the future of Tees Valley People.
I dont have a camera at present or I would have provided some shots.
The large seal that I first saw eating a salmon in 2002 is my friend now. I don’t blame the seals for the millions of fish wasted, it’s another man made problem.