A £16 million investment at Butlin's Minehead site could be the key to transforming West Somerset's jaded tourism sector, the town's MP said this week.

Newly re-elected Conservative Ian Liddell-Grainger said a switch of emphasis back to traditional family holidays at the centre should soon start to pay dividends for the entire district.

As reported in the Free Press last Friday, Butlin's has put the money into creating West Lakes Chalet Village, a complex of 117 new chalets which was officially opened last week.

It was designed and built after consultations with mothers on Mumsnet, the parenting website, and Butlin's managing director Dermot King said the development was a deliberate attempt to move the centre back toward providing traditional family seaside holidays.

If the formula works at Minehead it will be applied at the company's other two sites in Bognor Regis and Skegness.

Mr Liddell-Grainger has now invited Mr King and the Minehead centre manager Julian Highfield to a meeting at the House of Commons where further potential developments will be discussed.

He said he was already "highly encouraged" by the prospect of West Somerset hosting more family holidays: "Unfortunately in recent years I have heard more bad reports than good about the behaviour of guests at Butlin's.

"But this development represents a very positive step and one which should transform the image of the centre as well as bringing new business to the whole of the local tourism sector.

"People who come here on family holidays will naturally want to go out and explore Exmoor, which is an unparalleled natural asset for tourists to enjoy.

"Those who have lived in the area far longer than I have told me how much more of a local economic spin-off there was when Butlin's was essentially a centre for the traditional seaside holiday.

"I see this innovation as the first step towards rebuilding that rewarding relationship between Butlin's and West Somerset and I look forward to hearing what further developments are down the line."