A HOLIDAY park is planning a major expansion which it says will deliver vital jobs and spending to Dorset’s economy.

Waterside Holiday Group plans 56 “high end” residences at Weymouth’s Bowleaze Cove.

A statement submitted with the plans says it would be “possible to conclude” that the scheme could generate £1.5million in gross value added (GVA) to the local economy.

The plan is for an 18-acre site next to the existing Waterside Holiday Park and Spa, with 31 cedar-clad static homes and 25 “round houses”. The company says the homes would be “generously spaced out” and would blend with the environment.

A second area would be developed for recreation use, with landscaping work across the site.

Dave Bennett, chief executive of Waterside Holiday Group, said: “The proposed development has been carefully planned to bring multiple benefits to the area. We have devised a sympathetic landscaping strategy and layout plan to help the development integrate seamlessly into the local environment.”

He told the Echo: “What we wanted to do was a development of the future. We wanted it to look and feel different and naturalistic, like it really blends into the environment.”

Allen Main, group general manager at Waterside Holiday Group, said the round houses would be “premium” accommodation.

“As we’ve seen the boom in people wanting to stay in the UK, we’ve seen lots of diverse types of holiday accommodation pop up and they seem to be something that’s been quite popular around the country,” he said.

“The spec of them is really high. They’re really quite a nice use of space and the layout and shape is quite different for the area and for us as well.”

The company would create a new “ecological mitigation area”, carry out landscaping and install bat boxes and bird nest boxes on trees.

He said local people would be consulted over the plans, which have been submitted to Dorset Council.

“Whenever we embark on anything, we always like to be good neighbours and talk to the wider community because at the end of the day those are the people who may have an opinion on this – as well as getting its benefits in terms of creating more employment opportunities.

“We will reach out and share the plans and talk to the wider community about their thoughts and feelings around it and equally share what we think it can do, how it can shape the future for Bowleaze Cove and the job aspects.”

Planning documents say six full-time jobs will be created on the site. The company says more will be generated by using local contractors for the building work.