PLANS to replace almost 100 caravan pitches with holiday lodges at a caravan park have been approved.

West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) gave the green light for the removal of 92 touring caravan pitches, with 36 holiday lodges set to replace them at Bladon Chains Caravan Club.

Existing site buildings will also be demolished, with replacement facilities plus maintenance and housekeeping lodges to be constructed.

A planning statement for the application says proposals will ‘revitalise the existing mix of touring caravan and motorhome provision at Bladon Chains with high-quality tourism accommodation in the form of holiday lodges’.

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The proposed site operator, Darwin Escapes, anticipates investing £6 million to carry out the required work on the site, which is estimated to take about 18 months to complete.

The planning statement continues: “The proposals will increase the number of employment opportunities at Bladon Chains and result in both capital expenditure in the area in the region of £6 million, alongside increased visitor spend per unit in comparison to touring caravans.

“Notably employment would be year-round, rather than seasonal, delivering real career opportunities.”

Lodges will be either two or three-bedroom units, which will be factory built and craned into position on pre-constructed foundations.

The existing shower block, reception and adjacent store will be demolished and replaced.

To view the application, use the reference number 20/02600/FUL on the WODC planning portal.