Hotel and water park planned for longleat

A 240-bed hotel, water park and conference facility could be built at the Longleat estate in Wiltshire, creating 300 jobs, if newly-submitted plans are given the green light.Longleat Enterprises, the commercial arm of the 465-year-old estate, has lodged plans with Wiltshire Council for a 240-bedroom hotel resort, aimed at enabling families to extend their stay at the park.It is also proposing the construction of a water park and conferencing facilities as part of the hotel, able to cater for up to 200 delegates. Multi-purpose entertaining and ancillary buildings would also be created.It is hoped that the water park will provide an additional all-year-round facility that will enable the business to balance the seasonal nature of the Safari and Adventure Park.The development is expected to cost about £45m and create a number of jobs during the two-year construction phase. Once open, the new facilities will create about 300 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs and support more indirectly.Longleat Enterprises is responsible for the management of two tourist attractions at Cheddar Gorge and Longleat’s famous Safari Park. It is expecting visitor numbers to increase from one million in 2015 to at least 1.2 million by 2023.The business has committed to spending £3m per year over a ten-year period to support the development of the park.