Major plans for a fish factory, eel farm, restaurant and visitor centre at Lydney Docks have been given the go-ahead.

Severn and Wye Smokery Ltd has been granted permission from Forest of Dean District Council to redevelop the Pine End Works site to the north of Harbour Road.

Their scheme includes a two-floor 20,600m² fish processing building, a 8,000m² eel farm along with a restaurant, visitor centre, energy centre and staff accommodation.

The proposals were due to be debated by the development management committee on August 13.

However, the single agenda item was pulled and the meeting cancelled due to the submission of late material.

The council said at the time that they didn’t have time to consider a late entry in time for it to be presented at the meeting.

Officers told the development management committee meeting that the development would be undertaken in phases.

And they recommended delegated permission be granted.

They said the approval was very finely balanced given the proposals’ impact on the listed Naas House and its associated barn.

Applicant Richard Cook said that fishing was the only vehicle glass eels have to get out of the Severn as many are killed by man-made flood defences.

He said 70 percent of the glass eels caught are released for restocking.

He said the fisheries employ more than 400 fishermen and it generates £2m for the local economy.

“The glass eel fishery is owned by the poor not the aristocracy,” he said. “Severnsiders have a right to fish.

“We are only custodians of this fishery, we do not own it. Without a well managed eel farm it would not only make the future of glass eel uncertain but the fisheries would diminish.”

The company’s current site at Chaxhill is constraining the businesses’s ability to expand so the status quo “is not an option”.

The development would also “underwrite the future of Severn and Wye Smokery as a business in Gloucestershire, widely recognised as a food county.”

The investment in the first phase of the project is estimated at £58 million and would create some 240 permanent at the Lydney site.

It would also be the catalyst for the development of the Chaxhill site into meat and dairy production employing some 85 to 95 people and giving a net gain in jobs of 210

The company says extensive landscaping works are also planned as part of the first phase which will make the area more attractive.

A major objection related to the impact on the Naas House with Historic England saying while the level of harm would be less than substantial, the development would cause “unacceptable and avoidable” harm on the listed building.

Cllr Carol Harris, speaking on behalf of Lydney Town Council, said the overall benefits to the town outweigh the concerns.

She reiterated the council’s support for the proposals and said it would bring new jobs, housing, tourism and economic benefits.

All three District Councillors for Lydney East spoke strongly in favour of the scheme.

Conservatives James Bevan, andAlan Preest and Green Andrew McDermid called on the committee to approve the plans.

Cllr Clayton Williams (C, Redmarley and Hartpury) proposed approving the scheme

Vice-chairman Gill Moseley (LD, Newent) said the biggest hurdle to the plans has been the nearby listed building.

Cllr Simpon Phelps (I, Westbury-on-Severn) said he firmly believed the scheme deserved their full support. He also said it would help preserve the Severn fisheries.

“It brings an opportunity to maintain a prestigious business within our district,” he said.

The committee voted unanimously to approve the proposals in line with the officer’s recommendation.