Plans have been submitted to expand a holiday park next to a marina site in Cheshire.
Church Minshull Aqueduct Marina Limited has applied to Cheshire East Council for permission to change the use of two fields so up to 29 holiday lodge and a manager’s cabin can be provided on the site.
The application also includes the creation of four ponds together with internal access roads and associated parking and storage.
The site forms part of the wider Aqueduct Marina and Caravan Park, which is on the Middlewich branch of the Shropshire Union Canal.
A statement submitted by on behalf of the applicant stated: “The marina business offers the highest quality mooring, maintenance and chandlery services and includes 150 berths for narrowboats, a 14-pitch caravan site, boat repair workshops, storage space/pitches for boats and caravans, a chandlery, boat sales agency and a café as part of its comprehensive leisure offer.”
It added: “The 29 lodges will provide short break self-catering accommodation for recreational holiday purposes which will be available for use all year around to guests visiting the area on a short break holiday basis.
“The lodges will be designed and marketed as ‘top end’ quality, each with its own hot tub and will be fully equipped with kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, dining and lounge areas with the addition of a decking area for outdoor living.
“Each lodge will also have its own parking bay and will be pet friendly.”
‘Sustainable’
The planning document said the existing cafe and licensed bar would be available for all mealtimes, as well as being able to offer a takeaway and delivery service to the lodges.
The marina business currently employs 30 full-time staff, and the proposed addition of lodges would create an extra 14 full and part-time jobs – including management, housekeeping and maintenance plus food and beverage.
The statement said the plans were essential to the sustainable diversification of the existing family-run business and were put forward in direct response to demand from tourists.
“It will therefore allow the business to remain competitive and viable as a leisure provider so that it can continue, and significantly boost, its direct and indirect contribution to the local rural economy.
“The sensitively designed proposals, construction methods and landscaping scheme will provide a high-quality environment that ensures there will be no harm to the surrounding countryside, instead enhancing both its amenity and ecological value.”
The application, number 24/4617, can be viewed on the planning portal on Cheshire East Council’s website.
