Plans submitted for 150 acre wildlife park expansion

Plans for the first phase of an expansion to create more than 300 jobs and a £50m boost to the local economy of Yorkshire Wildlife Park have been submitted to Doncaster Council for planning permission.

The 150-acre expansion will improve facilities and increase the species of animals cared for at the park, which is aiming to become one of the leading destinations in the UK.

Detailed reports, surveys, plans and assessments have been submitted to DMBC detailing the first phase of the ambitious project on land adjacent to the current site at Branton. The application is for the change of use of the land and detailed planning for a new entrance and car parks.

Further detailed applications will follow for the development of the new area to link with the current Wildlife Park which will include new animal reserves, lakes and landscaping and a visitor support hub at the new entrance with restaurants and a destination hotel. The the land use of the new area is designated as: general landscape and woodlands 53%, animal areas 27%, access and car parking 14% and the supporting facilities 6%.

An economic impact study compiled for the application revealed nearly 1,500 extra indirect jobs in the regional supplier chain in addition to the extra 300 full equivalent time posts directly attributable to the park, doubling the overall workforce at the park.

It is a result of 12 months of research and consultation and the expansion will enable the park to enhance its international reputation for creating innovative animal reserves and championing animal welfare and conservation. The work, if granted full approval, would take two years to complete.

CEO John Minion said: “This is significant investment and a step change for Yorkshire Wildlife Park.

“We have been working hard to create an expansion that is in keeping with the ethos of the Park and is an asset for local people to enjoy and benefit from. We have consulted with experts on the environmental, ecological, transport and business impact. We believe that it will bring great benefit to the area.”

Yorkshire Wildlife Park is currently home to 400 animals from 80 different species, was opened in 2009 and has built on its popularity every year, attracting a record 761,000 visitors in 2016. Since opening, the Park has invested £14.8m in its development and one of the leading attractions in the UK.

The expansion will also boost the park’s potential to build its educational offer which attracted more than 80,000 school children last year with 33,000 attending sessions delivered by YWP’s education team.  The new land will enable a natural expansion of the existing park and a new access from Hurst Lane.

The application includes details of the access, new entrance and car parks, which will be landscaped to minimise impact on view from the approach by road. Extensive traffic surveys and modelling have been undertaken by Mott McDonald.

The application states: “We believe we have developed a scheme which meets both Yorkshire Wildlife Park’s aspirations to become one of the largest zoos in the UK, paying particular attention to the opportunities provided by the site in terms of nature conservation, ecological enhancement, sustainable construction, valuable landscape enhancement and careful management and consideration of transport within the site and connections to the existing network.”

It adds: “Yorkshire Wildlife Park are committed to delivering a high quality, sustainable scheme that has a strong sense of place which will be an attractive place for people to live around, work in and to visit.”

The Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, said “The Yorkshire Wildlife Park is a fantastic success story and a great asset for Doncaster. It offers a superb visitor experience, delivers valuable conservation work, and provides hundreds of jobs and a multi-million-pound contribution to our economy. I welcome these exciting expansion plans, which are testament to the hard work of everyone at YWP, and I am sure they will see the park go from strength to strength.”

Yorkshire Wildlife Park’s concept of the walk-through safari with amazing visitor experience has made it one of the leading animal attractions in the UK.