PLANNERS have given the go-ahead to proposals in fill in a trout lake and replace it with a car park.

The trout lake site, at Undercliffe in Pickering, on the edge of the North York Moors, will be made into a 158-space car park, as well as a seven-unit "glampsite".

There will also be a reception building with cafe, shop, exhibition and meeting space, a service kitchen, public toilets and shower rooms and a three-bedroom manager's apartment.

The site is next to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway station in Pickering, and will create extra capacity for tourists going on the train.

And to tie in with the railway theme, the glamping units which people will be able to stay in are to be created out of old railway carriages, and the new builds will echo railway architecture.

A spokesman for Moorland Trout Farms said: "We are delighted to be able to redevelop the old fishing lake site into something that will support the growth and vitality of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway; one of the key economic drivers in Ryedale and Pickering's most important tourism offering."

The few remaining trout will be removed once the lake is at its final pump out stage. Work on the site is projected to be completed sometime late next year.