A LONG-established Exmoor business is planning to expand to make itself more sustainable and create extra local employment opportunities.

Exmoor Fisheries, located on a seven-acre site alongside the River Haddeo below Wimbleball Lake, wants to build three new ponds to stock and rear trout.

The business was founded 40 years ago and is now one of the three largest UK fisheries which breed their own trout rather than import eggs from the USA and other countries.

It supplies 80,000 of a unique strain of rainbow and blue trout a year, has a turnover of more than £600,000, and employs seven staff, with three families living on site.

Many of the trout are supplied to local fishing lakes for sport, tourism, and mental health and wellbeing purposes, with the fish being a high protein organic food dource.

Now, owner Andy Norman is facing a business crossroads where he either abandons his hatchery operation and imports fish eggs from abroad, or digs more ponds to increase income.

Mr Norman said switching to imports would see the Exmoor strain of trout become extinct, losing one of the unique selling points of the business.

It would also run the risk of disease and lower quality fish and leave the business relying on one supplier 6,000 miles away in America, thereby increasing its carbon footprint.

Mr Norman said building new ponds would protect the current operation and have little environmental impact other than one extra lorry movement per fortnight.

The trout farm currently has 19 ponds with water supplied by controlled abstraction from the River Haddeo.

Pre-application advice given by Exmoor National Park Authority (ENPA) in 2022 indicated the development would be considered modest in scale and in principle was likely be acceptable.

ENPA is asking for any public comments on the planning application to be submitted by September 19.