Work started at the Hatchery on schedule and was completed completion by the end of spring 2007. Ponds 4 & 5 have been combined to form a T shaped holding pond that is naturalising and will provide a safe habitat for fry to grow on before they migrate naturally into the river and feeder becks.

Pond 3 has also been refurbished and will provide a natural reserve for native crayfish prior to their re-introduction into the river.

The second phase of work involved the installation of the supply pipes to feed water to the ponds, the erection of a check wstock-pondeir to give sufficient head for the water supply, the excavation of a filter tank to ensure that run off from the stock pond returns to the beck as clean as it entered and the creation of new spawning channels with a gravel substrate which will feed fry into the larger pond.

Phase three saw the installation of all fittings, the natualisation of the ponds and then a period to allow the habitat to stabilise. The first fry were put into the pond in summer 2007. These were 40 fish from the hatchery tank in the School and are a trial to see if they survive and thrive before the whole facility goes live in winter 2007. The hope is that native fish will find the new channel and spawn in the oxygen rich gravels.

With luck native fish from the pond will begin to find their way back into the river