A £23 MILLION investment – believed to be one of the biggest of its kind currently in the south west – to transform Finlake Holiday Park on the outskirts of Chudleigh will create 80 new jobs in the area once the work is complete in the summer of 2018.

It will also provide around 100 construction jobs as the project takes shape.

Finlake, opened in 1983 and covering 130 acres, currently has 415 luxury lodges and is one of a dozen holiday parks in England and Wales owned by the Haulfryn Group.

In the plans, designed by Holder Mathias Architects, which were approved by Teignbridge Council on Friday, a further 100 luxury lodges will be built, plus an £8 million 500-capacity new water park with slides, splash zones and two pools, gym and leisure complex.

Also featured is to be a £4 million upgrade of the current leisure buildings into a new sauna and spa centre, the doubling of restaurant and bar space, and proposed contemporary architecture to strongly connect with the surrounding landscape.

It is expected that public gym memberships will grow by 500.

On the leisure side once the new water park and gym are completed, work will begin on the transformation of the existing facilities into a premier spa with 12 treatment and experience rooms, including the refurbished indoor swimming pool.

The spa is to be linked with a new main reception, cafe and bar area, and an outdoor terrace. The last stage of the development will see the extension of the kitchen and restaurant areas.

The leisure complex and restaurant will be open to the public along with the gym offering an increased programme and a variety of studio classes and membership opportunities.

Some 82 of the new lodges are to be built on Finlake’s old pitch-and-putt golf course, with a tie-in to help support other local courses currently being investigated. The remaining 18 lodges will be on the fishing lake shores.

Welcoming the plans, Central Devon MP Mel Stride said it was an extremely significant investment for the county, not only for the facilities that would be delivered, but the jobs it would create to construct and run the new state-of-the-art operation.

‘Finlake is exemplary of what Devon has to offer: stunning landscaped areas, a focus on the family and a strong sense of community for all to enjoy. These plans take this very popular holiday park to a new level; giving those who visit, access to what is going to be a fantastic new water park and leisure amenity for both local people and holidaymakers to enjoy,’ he said.

Teignbridge and Chudleigh town councillor Douglas Hellier-Laing said it was an extremely exciting project.

‘As well as bringing more tourists to the area, which will in turn boost the local economy; this development will also create much needed jobs for people in south Devon,’ he added.

The work is to begin next month and is to be undertaken in three phases.