Daily fishing charges are being increased at Southwold Pier

The owners of Southwold Pier have raised the cost of a day fishing permit from £6.50 to £10, but have decreased the charge for the annual fishing permit from £178 to £150, saying that the daily charge had not been increased for "at least six years".

However, the changes have sparked concern among the local fishing community, with some anglers saying they did not feel it was worth paying £10 to fish off the pier as they could fish off the beach for free.

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In addition, they said they could only conduct their hobby for six months of the year and that the amount of fish they caught off the pier was not worth the £10 charge.

One angler, Ian Thomas, said: "I have fished the pier on occasions but will no longer at these prices."

He said he had visited the pier with his wife, but: "My wife and I won't be using the pier at these prices.

"My main gripe is for poorer pensioners and local kids, it's a very short-sighted outlook by the owners."

READ MORE: Southwold Pier had not been on market prior to being sold

Amy and Charles Barwick took over the running of Southwold Pier in March (Image: Southwold Pier) In March, this newspaper reported how Amy and Charles Barwick had taken over the running of the pier from the previous owners Curious Pier Limited, describing their "excitement" at becoming the new custodians.

Natalie O'Donovan, from Southwold Pier, said: "As a small family-run business and as you are aware, running costs have increased across all sectors in the past years.

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"We made the decision back in March, when we purchased the pier, that the daily charge for fishing was going to increase marginally and the annual membership decrease significantly. 

"Due to a clerical error on our side the increase didn't happen when it was supposed to, although the annual charge was decreased immediately.

"We do apologise for any confusion this has caused.

"We also added to the daily and annual pass holders a 10% discount in The Clockhouse coffee shop or The Fish & Chip shop on presentation of their permit.

"We would also like to add that the daily charge hadn't increased for a number of years, at least six.

"We do recognise that there are many fishermen that enjoy fishing off the end of the pier and we wish for that to continue.

"We believe that we have found the happy medium between the daily and annual charges."