Olympic Legacy Fund has provided £20,085 of match funding
ADAA Potterswall Dam Facilities Improvements
Antrim, Antrim and Newtownabbey, United Kingdom
Aim
Improve security, maintenance & facilities to support anglers, including children and those with disabilities.
Who are we?
Antrim and District Angling Association (ADAA) provides accessible, affordable, and high-quality recreational angling opportunities across both stillwater and river in County Antrim. Beyond angling, ADAA delivers significant benefits to the community through environmental stewardship, education, social inclusion, and conservation. The Association contributes to local and regional wellbeing through its commitment to affordable access, habitat protection, youth engagement, and environmental guardianship.
ADAA plays a vital role in preserving and promoting angling opportunities across County Antrim and Northern Ireland. In a time when many fisheries are closing and the Public Angling Estate is likely to be reduced, ADAA provides a sustainable, affordable, and inclusive model for community-based fisheries management. Through its environmental efforts, education programmes, and accessible pricing, ADAA contributes to regional biodiversity, mental health, and social wellbeing.
Why are we crowdfunding?
To keep our waters safe, inclusive, and welcoming for all — from juniors to seniors, from beginners to seasoned anglers — we need your help.
Our beautiful reservoir is thriving, but key facilities are missing. With your support, we can create a safer, more inclusive environment that encourages participation from women, families, young people, and anglers with disabilities. By crowdfunding, we’re investing in accessibility, safety, and sustainability — ensuring our community fishery continues to benefit people and nature for years to come.
If we reach 35% of our crowdfunding goal , the Olympic Legacy Fund through Sport NI has committed to contributing the remaining 65%, making this project truly achievable with your support! Thank you to both the Olympic Legacy Fund and Sport NI for this opportunity to do something wonderful!
How we’ll spend the money raised
Every penny will go directly into essential improvements at our reservoir:
Accessible Waterless Toilet (£14,394) — A vital facility for visitors with disabilities, medical needs, or personal care requirements, ensuring comfort, dignity, and inclusivity for all anglers.
Slope Mower (£13,194) — To safely and efficiently maintain our banks and paths, improving visibility, access, and safety around the water’s edge.
Car Park Fence (£3,311.85) — To replace 150m damaged gates and fencing, improving safety between vehicles and the water while enhancing the overall appearance of our site.
Total Project Cost: £30,899.85
35% to raise by us: £10,814.95
65% contribution from OLF/SportNI: £20,084.90
Together, these upgrades will make a lasting difference, creating a safer, more inclusive, and better-maintained space for everyone who loves angling in Antrim.
Below are more details!
Accessible Waterless Toilet
Our beautiful reservoir is the perfect location to get youngsters hooked on fishing, but the facilities are limited.
Likewise, although we have a concrete fishing platform suitable for anglers with mobility restrictions, the facilities to support those with a range of disabilities are limited.
We plan to introduce facilities to answer both of the above issues through the purchase and installation of an accessible toilet!
Feedback from anglers has highlighted that there are currently no toilet facilities available on site. The addition of an accessible toilet would make a huge difference, particularly for visitors with disabilities or medical needs. It would provide a safe, hygienic space for people who require additional privacy or equipment for stoma care, bowel or bladder issues, or prostate conditions - needs that currently prevent some from visiting.
It would also ensure female participants have a private and comfortable space to manage personal hygiene needs, including changing sanitary products, which is essential for encouraging women and girls to take part in angling activities with confidence and dignity.
This facility improvement would significantly improve accessibility, inclusivity, and participation, ensuring that everyone - from enthusiastic juniors to experienced seniors, from disabled anglers to women and families - can enjoy the reservoir in comfort and dignity.
Slope Mower
We’re also crowdfunding to raise money for a new slope mower to help us properly maintain the grass from the water’s edge, over the banks, and up to the boundary. Keeping this area short is essential for safe access, clear visibility of trip hazards, and monitoring the structural soundness of the banks.
With a reliable slope mower, we can continue to provide safe, accessible fishing spots for all members of our community — including children, older anglers, and those with disabilities — ensuring everyone can enjoy the water in comfort and safety.
Carpark Fence
Finally, we’re crowdfunding to raise money for new fencing materials to replace our car park fence and gates, which have become unsightly and unsafe, with broken rails, loose posts, and gates that have fallen off.
A strong, visible barrier between vehicles and the water is essential for safety, helping to prevent accidents and clearly define parking areas. Replacing the fence will also improve the overall appearance of the site, showing pride in our facilities and ensuring they remain welcoming, safe, and well maintained for all members of the angling community.
Community impact
By offering day-tickets and season permits at deliberately modest cost, our club ensures that the pleasure of salmonid (trout & salmon) angling remains within reach of all ages and income brackets. When many commercial fisheries have closed or become priced out of reach, our stillwater and river-based opportunities fill a critical gap in community provision. The existence of very low-cost options underscores our commitment to inclusive access.
Through our junior development days, we engage young people (under-18) with accredited coaching in casting, fish-handling, bank safety and conservation. For older community members, our competition schedule and a free membership option for over-65s fosters social connection, purpose and combats isolation.
Our club doesn’t just provide angling. We actively care for the habitat and water environment. Every year we invest thousands of hours and pounds into monitoring water quality, maintaining and improving spawning gravels, clearing fish-passes, aerating the reservoir and much more. In doing so we safeguard not only the fishery, but also the riparian wildlife, local farmers, dog-walkers and other users of the river corridor. By lobbying and monitoring planning applications we act as custodians of our catchment. This level of stewardship aligns with national/regional best practice for fisheries and conservation.
We invest in ensuring that the angling we offer is first-class: stocking high-quality trout each year, maintaining the reservoir and river infrastructure, and offering a unique ‘All-in-One’ ticket covering both stillwater and river angling. By combining affordability with a high-quality experience we help sustain angler participation, promote the sport locally and provide value to the community.
By providing accessible angling opportunities and hosting events for young people, older people and those with mobility issues, the club promotes both physical activity and time in calming natural ‘blue-space’ environments. Research shows that anglers have lower rates of depression and self-harm and derive greater mental wellbeing from their time fishing. We thus contribute not only to sport but to community health and social wellbeing.
Through thousands of voluntary hours and financial investments each year, the club maintains over 50-100 stiles, bridges, steps and signage across nearly 20 miles of river corridor, making the terrain safe and accessible. Our junior development programmes engage young people with the sport and the environment; our lobbying at planning stages protects the river corridor for all users. Visitors accessing our venues bring economic benefit to the wider region. Our role extends beyond angling into community volunteerism, local economic support and environmental guardianship.
How you can play your part
There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.
1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!
2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.
3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!
4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!
This project successfully funded on 2nd April 2026