Gulliver's World set for pirate ship and castle hotels

The theme park had applied for planning permission for the new Wilderness Wharf development at its Westbrook site, featuring a 71-bedroom hotel and leisure resort.

Family accommodation will be offered in hotel buildings shaped like a pirate ship and a fairytale castle after the council gave its consent for the scheme.

A number of holiday lodges, a café, indoor play area, craft centre and creche are also planned.

How the pirate ship and fairytale castle hotels will look

The new scheme coincides with Gulliver's World's 30th birthday while the company, which also operates theme parks in Milton Keynes and Matlock Bath, has been in business for 40 years.

Gulliver's estimates that the proposal will create 40 jobs in management, marketing, maintenance, housekeeping and gardening roles and that the scheme will add £6million to the town's economy.

Managing director Julie Dalton said: "Gulliver's will be celebrating 30 years in Warrington in May, so we are delighted to have achieved approval for our plans in time for this.

"As the holiday market changes and grows, the development will help us continue to deliver quality leisure breaks and entertainment with family friendly accomodation that suits a variety of budgets and tastes."

County Planning Ltd had submitted the application for planning permission on behalf of Gulliver's.

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Managing director Dan Matthewman added: "This was a complex suite of applications owing to multiple uses, which required us to engage in detail with the council's planning and environmental health officers.

"Effective community engagement meant there were no public objections received to the applications and we achieved approval within 10 weeks, with all planning conditions agreed in advance.

"It's an exciting time for Warrington."

Warrington Borough Council granted planning permission for the development on Wednesday, April 24.