Socking an unused Pond

[MajorBates]

We have a approx 20x40ft pond on our horse livery farm.
24 horse 30 acre farm.

We are starting to improve the farm as a whole, starting to dig ditches after 30-40 years of not being touched.
Plus after that some land drains.

we have a pond in a corner or our property that we thought we may utilise.

We had thought we may use this as a Reservoir to supply a irrigation system.

Also we may look to stocking this with fish.
Not sure about the feasibility of this as it's not a huge pond and I wouldn't see it as competitive fishing.

The ditches are already there and run past the pond but they could feed it.

They neighbour is possibly going to help, we're on new forest clay. The neighbour seams to think there a large amount of Gravel also.

So any advice on pond enlarging, possible stocking of the pond?

And then irrigation. (Does anyone irrigate a livery field?) How much work todo it properly and will it be worthwhile ?

Think I'm in the wrong part of the forum

 

[Doing it for the kids]

Not sure irrigation is needed for horses.

touching ponds is asking for environmental headaches, bet you have newts near enough to raise alarms.

id dig out the ditches, lay the hedges and tidy the place up.

maybe you need a longer term business plan

 

[gmgmgm]

Stocking fish is fairly "controlled" now - ideally it's a mature pond and you have evidence it's been stocked before. Have a read up of the EA rules (plenty of "guidelines for fisheries" online, such as this one: https://www.northerntrout.co.uk/docs/stocking__eng_172017.pdf from various suppliers)

You'll need plenty of filtration/settling tanks for irrigation. All possible, but something to bear in mind.