NEW plans for overnight hotel lodges overlooking spectacular animal habitats at Chester Zoo have been revealed.
Chester Zoo has resubmitted proposals for lodges to be built in a grasslands zone next to the A41 Moston Road on the approach to the zoo's car park, which is currently land owned but not actively used by the zoo.
An artist's impression of what the waterside lodges would look like at Chester Zoo if plans are given permission. Source: Planning document.
A previous plan to build 42 safari-style lodges and tents was submitted in 2019 and won planning permission later that year, but the onset of the Covid pandemic and subsequent lengthy lockdowns put paid to any significant zoo development work.
But now the zoo has been able to recover from the hefty financial impact of the pandemic, it has submitted a revised plan for the site, which would now ultimately feature 63 lodges of varying style and size, many around the perimeter of a large body of water, plus a restaurant, bar and wildlife pond.
Some of the lodges proposed for Chester Zoo would overlook the new giraffe enclosure. Source: Planning document.
A spectacular new savannah habitat would be created, meaning many of the hotel guests could wake up to seeing giraffes strolling by their lodge.
The new restaurant would seat up to 120 people, for breakfast, lunch or dinner, with the first-floor views overlooking the lake and the giraffe enclosure.
Spectacular artist's impressions of Chester Zoo's new overnight lodges plan. Source: Planning document.
Meanwhile, guests could stay overnight in a number of four and six-person lodges, which in turn include king size beds and bunk beds.
There would be two giraffe feeding stations extending out to the Bachelor Giraffe paddock, one accessible to all guests and the other a private viewing/feeding area for two of the lodges.
An island 'events space' would be created as part of the Chester Zoo overnight lodges plans. Source: Planning document.
An 'island' space in the centre of the new lake would act as a focal point for events, social gatherings, functions and storytelling.
It is planned for the lodges to be created using sustainable materials and the 'skin' of the buildings would take precedent from the pangolin's body armour of overlapping scales, using timber shingles to create textured natural facades.
The savannah-style enclosure would have trees appropriate for the African savannah landscape, sporadically placed, while a denser, greener islands zone would be created to the south of the new site, to provide greater species diversity for wildlife.
The wide-ranging plans are not the only hospitality development planned for Chester Zoo.
Back in April, Cheshire West and Chester Council gave the go-ahead to plans to convert the original stables block, which housed some of Chester Zoo's very first animals in the 1930s, into a wedding and events space.
These plans were also given the go-ahead prior to the pandemic, but couldn't be built due to the lockdown. As with the lodges plan, the zoo submitted a revised proposal and it was given the green light, with that development currently hoped to open in mid-2023.
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