A WEST Somerset holiday park will be able to accommodate more visitors after expansion plans were approved.

Haven Leisure Ltd operates the Doniford Bay Holiday Park, in Sea Lane, 1.2 miles outside Watchet, and has been given planning permission to add 21 static caravans around its Otters Lake area at the western end of the site.

The Otters Lake area spins off from the main holiday park facilities, lying at the western border of the site near the outlay of the Swill waterway into the Bristol Channel.

Haven Leisure, which already has 538 caravans on site, said it was ‘a very modest extension’ to the holiday park, which was established in 1975.

The new static caravan berths will be created on the western bank of the lake on grassland partly used for recreational and servicing purposes ancillary to the main park.

Planning agent Nick Mannering, of Laister Planning, said: “The development will make efficient use of under-utilised land that has historically been connected to the park, and will complement the layout and character of other holiday units.

“It will meet the increasing demand for and expectations of visitors for good quality and spacious accommodation in well-kept grounds, sympathetic to the natural environment.

“It will help also support the existing successful tourism business, enabling it to be more financially sustainable, to the benefit of the business, visitors, and the local economy.”

Mr Mannering said two extra full-time equivalent jobs would be created, taking the total on the park to 35.

He said: “The accommodation units will have the form, appearance, and character of timber-style holiday lodges.”

“Tourism is an important mechanism for delivering sustainable growth for both the local and national economy.

“Doniford Bay Holiday Park is well established and already makes a significant positive contribution to both the local economy and general vitality of the area.”