HUNGRY otters, herons and cormorants have forced a re-think at a popular North Yorkshire holiday attractions,the Moorland Trout Farm at Pickering.

The company has submitted a planning application to Ryedale District Council (RDC) to fill in the one-acre lake to create a large car park, pglamping holiday units and to build a host cafe, shop, exhibition and meeting space, at the Undercliffe site.

Alex O'Donnell, whose family have operated the venture, said the fish farm operates with carp, while the ponds are leased out to an operator and another part of the land is leased to the nearby North York Moors Railway.

He said otters were to be seen frequently snatching fish at night, and there had been further problems of fish mortality caused by herons and cormorants.

"It is good that we have seen bio-diversity with excellent clean water which has attracted the predators such as otters, but it has been at a cost to the operation because of the loss of fish stocks."

Filling in the lake will provide much needed extra car parking for some 158 vehicles in Pickering, he said. especially for passengers using the railway. and people visiting Pickering Castle and the town's wealth of public rights of way, as well as the town centre.

There would also be a new model shop created and public toilets, said Mr O'Donnell."It will be a significant investment," he added. An area of the farm site had been opened on an ad hoc basis when parking was at a premium in peak season, to cope with the volume of holiday traffic in Pickering. "The scheme will get parked traffic off Newbridge Road. At present there is conflict between visitors and traffic."

Mr O'Donnell said the public rights of way in the vicinity would not be affected and concerns about people walking were also being addressed.

Pickering Town Council has now asked RDC's planning committee to have a site visit before making a decision on the planning application.

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