Lodge Pond – Vehicle registration & keeping to the rules & not losing your FAS membership.
You must register your vehicle before you visit, this includes when going night fishing & leaving early: allow 3-working days if using the online system: See below for full details.
Driving speed, courtesy when driving & keeping your permit:
All members, without exception, MUST ensure that they do not exceed the MAXIMUM 10mph speed limit within Alice Holt, especially on the track to and from the car park from the inner gate.
Several members have already been removed from Alice Holt’s registration database and are no longer allowed to fish at Lodge Pond.
Several more members have now been expelled from the Society as a result of speeding and driving without due consideration for the public.
Speed checks by FAS bailiffs have conducted, and will continue to undertake speed checks, as required by our lease. If members are found to be exceeding the 10mph speed limit (which I repeat is a MAXIMUM), they will lose their membership of Farnham AS.
We value Lodge Pond greatly and no excuses whatsoever will be accepted: Just comply with the speed limit.
Despite requests, advisories and warnings about this in Waterside in January and May 2021, a few of our members appear unwilling or incapable of following the simple instructions that we have given, and which Forestry England require.
I hope that You will not be the next to lose your membership of Farnham Angling Society.
When driving on site, remember that there are a lot of members of the public that visit Alice Holt, including young children with their parents, dogs off leads, cyclists (often children with or without their parents), and joggers. If they overtake you whilst driving along the track, just be grateful we have a car park close to the pond, and do not have to walk from the main car park.
The general public have every right to use or cross the access track beyond the inner gate, which we alone have special dispensation to use as part of our lease, with the only other vehicles being those used by Forestry England or their contractors.
The emphasis for all of us as members is to drive far more carefully that you would do on a public road, hence the maximum 10mph speed limit.
Ensure that you drive very slowly and with extreme caution, when driving along them, both before and after your fishing session.
Car Registration:
As per the normal arrangements, all Members must register their vehicle each new season (1 vehicle per member), with the Visitor Centre at Alice Holt before going fishing. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the Visitor Centre may still be closed unexpectedly, but it is currently open from 10:00am – 16:00 most days, but the easiest way for Members wishing to register their vehicle before fishing at Lodge Pond is to email them your details as per the following:
a. Send an email to the following address: Enquiries.aliceholt@forestryengland.uk
The emails will be checked Monday – Friday, and should include all of the following details:
i) Your name
ii) Your car registration number: Be certain it is correct, as you will not be recognised as an FAS member if it is not, and will be charged for parking as if you had been in the public car park.
iii) Your permit number for the 2021 – 2022 season
iv) A picture of the back page of your 2021 – 2022 permit
v) Your contact phone number
Once you have sent your email, you will receive an automatic response email which you can ignore.
Within 48-hrs you will then receive a second confirmation email, this means that you will have been registered and your vehicle has been added to the Forestry Commission’s database.
You must not go fishing at Lodge Pond without registering your vehicle beforehand.
Note:
- You must register your car before you go fishing, even if you go at night, because if you have to leave during the day the barrier will need to recognise your number plate. The intercom system at the barriers is normally manned via the Visitor Centre, but currently it is closed, so you would cause congestion and have to pay for that day’s parking charges at a machine before leaving.
- When you are bailiffed, you will be asked to show your FAS handbook and tell the bailiff your car registration details as well.
Ian Gray, Honorary Secretary on behalf of the Executive Committee
